Certified Public Accountant. Amateur vacationer. Closet storyteller.

The first time I ever wrote anything, I think I was 10? Maybe 11? Somewhere in middle school. It was a Harry Potter fan fic. Nothing crazy like what’s on Wattpad and those websites. It was a very innocent cute first puppy love kind of story. It had a terrible plot line, if any at all, and was really nothing but fluff. Like I knew what “love” was at 10. I actually didn’t write the whole thing – another author wrote it in second person, which I’m not a fan of so I changed it to first person, but not really and I changed the ending and some parts in the middle because I didn’t like how it was being told. Let me explain about the first person, but not really thing: This was when Jennah was created. My alter ego writing persona. She’s the one I write into my stories, who’s kind of like me, but is also very much her own person.

My stories are some of my most prized possessions and one of my biggest secrets. Only a handful of people have ever read anything I’ve written and even so, they’ve only read one or two of the hundreds of pages I’ve written. I’m not sure why. They seemed personal, almost like a fictional diary. See, I write as a form of escapism from my reality. It’s almost like my own form of therapy. I write when I experience anything traumatic or if I’m trying to work through something in my life. My writings usually have absolutely nothing to do with what I would be going through at that point in time, but it allows my brain to almost take a break from the situation and regroup within itself. I can write about anything, but the theme is usually love stories.

A few years ago, I went through quite a dark time in my life. I wrote a lot during that period. Then, something clicked and I stopped. Writing healed me a lot quicker than if I were to have done anything else or waited for time to heal me. It was around that time that I started traveling and when I started traveling, I stopped writing. My life got super busy, but mellowed out in terms of any crazy events, and I didn’t have the passion or the fire that fueled anything I wanted to write. It’s scary. The last thing I ever wrote was 3 months before I started my full time job and my job consumed my whole life to this very day. When I wasn’t working, the last thing I wanted to do was do anything that required sitting in front of a computer. So, I discovered traveling and solo travel became my new favorite hobby. I realize now that I traveled as a physical means of escapism because writing wasn’t giving me the escapism that I so desperately craved anymore. Don’t get me wrong – I love traveling. I love the new experiences because it’s so stimulating and so different than mundane life. And yet, here we are back to square one.

I went through this crazy quarter-life existential crisis two years ago where I cried every day and wouldn’t get out of bed because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Two years later, here I am – sitting on my couch in my apartment in LA. That was the answer to fixing me two years ago. I had a three day cry sesh last week when I realized that moving here helped a little, but it didn’t fix whatever deeper problem I had. I’m still working through it and I’m trying to figure it out. I did realize one thing though – I needed to start writing again. In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, travel isn’t exactly easy right now and moving across the country into a one bedroom apartment in the middle of a pandemic leaves little to no leisure income. I always believed if you love someone, you would make time for them no matter how busy you are. This should hold true to when you love something as well. I still feel lost and I still have no idea how to fix what I’m feeling. I also know I can’t sit around and just do nothing about it.

My friends have been trying for years to convince me to start a travel blog. I am by no means a travel expert nor do I care to be one. So, I’m trying this out. This blog thing. I don’t have a niche or a focus or a topic of any kind. This is just a place to share my thoughts, my travel stories (experiences, not pro advice or tips), and maybe once I’m feeling brave enough, my stories. My job right now is very black and white numbers focused with clear right and wrong answers. Writing isn’t like that and it’s hard being potentially judged on something that’s subjective, but I’m hoping my starting this and jumping into this with no idea how this will turn out, I can reach other like minded people. People who also need to escape their reality for a little bit and if any of my writings can do that for them, then I’ve succeeded.

This first post is definitely all over the place, but I fully intended it to be that way. I wrote what came to my mind and let it wander and my fingers followed. The rest of my posts will be more focused. If not, they will definitely be shorter. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading and thank you for coming to the starting point of my journey. I hope you stay for the rest because honestly, I have no idea where this blog is taking/will take me. Get comfy because this is going to be a bumpy ride.

– xox. JayLee