ABOUT ME

For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of traveling the world. I'm not really sure where I got this from- my family's vacations from the time I was 10 years old have always been a trip to Disney World every year. After finally saving up the money to go out of the country for the first time at age 20, I picked the most adventurous place I could think of within my budget and decided I would spend my whole three month summer break there. I landed on Guatemala and pretty much just hopped on a plane with no real plans, no contacts in Central America and very little Spanish language proficiency. As soon as I got off the plane, any hopes my parents might of had for me living a stationary life were over. I fell in love with the way that travel challenged me, showed me new ways of thinking and allowed me to meet people vastly different from myself.

While school put more travel on hold for a few years, I was able to go on another three month trip by myself during winter 2015 though Southern Europe. The best part of my trip, hands down, was all of the wonderful people I met.

I've managed to still travel some while obtaining my Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering at UNC- Chapel Hill including a month long trip to Australia and several places within the United States. Thankfully I'll be finishing that degree up May 2017.

Outside of a love for travel and adventure , I believe that my most defining characteristics are the joy and love I have for experiencing everything life has to offer, my belief that everyone we encounter has a unique and valuable story to tell and my passion I pursue my interests with.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to meet people that I wouldn't otherwise likely get to!

Interests

One of my main hobbies (outside of traveling) is cycling! I would spend all day on my bike if I could. People always joke that my tiny home looks like a bike shop. I race cyclocross and mountain bikes as well as ride for fun on the road. I am a lover of pretty much any outdoor activity; I frequent the mountains of North Carolina for hiking, camping and kayaking-I'm hoping to improve my climbing skills and take that hobby outdoors more frequently as well! I'm an ex competitive runner who still likes to enjoy the occasional slower paced run with a good beer afterwards.

I'm also a huge music lover with a wide variety of tastes. My current main style of music in rotation is indie rock (Tame Impala, Toro y Moi, Spoon, TV on the Radio, Future Island to name a few off the top of my head). However, I've gone to my fair share of rap, hip-hop, hardcore rock and folk concerts in addition to some guilty pleasure top 40 stuff too :) Maybe one day my love of music will translate into actually learning how to play the guitar I own but so far it hasn't happened!

• concerts
• beer
• running
• tv
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• kayaking
• camping
• rock climbing
• engineering
• science
• solo travel
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I suppose I was supposed to list my taste in music in this section :) As I said, I have a really wide taste of music. There was a few years of my life where it seemed like I was going to a show every weekend. I'm really fortunate that Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh has a great local music scene too with the likes of Merge Records being located in the triangle.

I'm really not a big movie or TV person. I have trouble sitting down and watching things by myself but I enjoy watching Broadchurch and Sherlock with my boyfriend as well as Dr. Who and Firefly with some of my fellow dorky friends.

As for books, I LOVE reading but unfortunately it seems to be the thing that gets pushed out when I get really busy. My most recent books have been from the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This is a hard one! I don't really have a specific event for this. I suppose I think all my solo traveling has been pretty amazing :) Most of the amazing experiences in my life include hiking or biking: Hiking to the top of Mount Etna in Sicily in February through a blizzard was pretty crazy; cycling 63 miles up and around Beech Mountain was one of the most physically and mentally demanding things I've done; A day hike through all five towns in Cinque Terre was also some of the most breathtaking scenery I've seen; a 7 day backpacking trip through the Pisgah National Forest was also an incredibly enlightening experience too!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Guatemala, United States