I'm twenty-five years old and mentally ill. I think trees, whales, music, feminism, rain, empathy, humour, self-worth and kindness are important things. I have a rat called Appa. I play the ukulele - cover songs - mostly to express feelings and have something to do with my hands. I'm working on a poetry collection about depression and whales.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

AMANDA PALMER WRITES:

"Couchsurfing is about more than saving hotel costs. It's a gift exchange between the surfer and the host that offers an intimate gaze into somebody's home, and the feeling of being held and comforted by their personal space. It's also a reminder that we're floating along due to a strong bond of trust. Just like when I surf the crowd of a show, safely suspended on a sea of ever-changing hands. It can feel almost holy, looking at someone elses broken shower nozzle, smelling the smells of a real kitchen, feeling the fray of a real blanket, and hearing the crackle of an old steam radiator.

Staying in your own home can be corrosive and stifling, especially for creative work. The surroundings can smother you with the baggage of your past and the history of you. Staying in a hotel can be a blissful, blank slate. There's no baggage, just an empty space onto which you can project anything. But staying at a stranger's home can inspire like nothing else. You can immerse yourself in the baggage of someone else's past and regard somebody elses mess of unsorted books piled up high in the corner of the living room."

(from "The Art of Asking", the book that, along with a push from a friend, made me want to make a profile here.)

I've been brave and trusted people (with success and without) all my life, but I want to be brave and trusting in some of the areas where I haven't been so far. I want to be able to travel and really be in the places I'm in (not hotel rooms) to breathe them and write about them. I want to create new homes. I've spent most of my life either being alone (thankfully I have wonderful friends now) or feeling trapped because I've been too sick to work.

I've travelled very little and am inexperienced as fuck. I want to change this. I know nothing about couchsurfing. I'm terrified of it because I'm terrified of people, real, honest social anxiety and stuff - but I also love people very much and I want to meet more of them. I want to try. Here I am, flawed and hopeful.

Interests

writing
playing my ukulele
playing the piano
vegan and vegetarian food
yoga
making really stupid jokes
talking with people
being silent with people
hiding
listening
drawing coffee cups and people in cafés
naps
walks

• arts
• writing
• books
• poetry
• womens rights
• dining
• coffee
• vegetarian
• vegan
• yoga
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• piano
• history

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Italy