I've always been the one to go off and escape to see different things. I didn't start doing that until I was able to leave the house independently, which was when I was in seventh grade. I love adventuring! It's my way of thinking about life and it helps me get my creativity juices flowing. I remember when I told my grandparents I didn't want to go to college, but instead I wanted to backpack around the world and experience different cultures, other places, and see the undiscovered parts of the world. Of course, like most parents, all they would say is "you're going to college!" So, maybe after college I can plan to travel the world and finally cross that off my bucket list. When exploring I usually record my experience. I'll either write what I see, video the views, and photograph the colorful moments! Most of the time I write what I see and how I feel in the moment. I write all my feelings in my travel journey, sometimes I even draw and after it all, I feel relaxed from releasing everything that is built in inside. I remember taking this trip to Crowder's Mountain. It was a couple of days before my birthday and I just remember feeling so empty emotionally from other people that I needed time to myself to self reflect. It was around 8 or 9 in the morning and I had so much on my mind that I decided to drive alone in search of clearing my mind. I didn't know what to expect, what I would see and how it would go. All I knew is that I needed to leave. It was about a 30 minute drive and the whole drive over I was nervous to hike up this mountain. I usually get a little nervous anytime I hike because of the stories you hear about kids going missing in the mountains, so I prayed nothing would happen to me while I endeavor this new journey. I remember when I got to the top, I found this little lookout on this very small pathway. Now that I think about it, I'm not entirely sure if it was an actually pathway, but I decided to walk it. After walking a minute on this pathway, I experienced this breathtaking view and I immediately just stopped and prayed. The colors were so rich and the view was so beautiful. The view made me want to see what the world has to offer. I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. I brought my old vintage polaroid to take photos of the view so that I could keep these memories forever. I started to journal and think about myself and what I wanted in life - my goals, my dreams, what qualities I wanted in others, and who I am as a human. During the end, I went back to campus with a level head and I realized more about myself, the world, and other people.
During this trip, I recorded short clips of the scenery, myself, and other special moments and I made a video on the things I saw. When making this video I didn't want it to be bland or boring, so I decided to do an inspirational video based off of an artist. I was inspired by the soul searcher herself, Jhene Aiko. Her video trailer to her album reminded me of some of the things I saw while on my journey, so I made a video inspired by her creativity. I've always admired her vision of creating images, videos, and songs that put you in the storyline and allow you to vibe to the energy. It's spiritually moving and that's what I love about her energy. I can't wait to learn more about the world. There's so much to uncover and I'm eager to see what's underneath. (To watch my Jhene inspired video of Crowder's Mountain, click the "Views of Crowder's Mountain" below!)
