Travel and Write

When I start to daydream about what I really want to do these three little words rise to the surface: Travel and Write.

I give myself all sorts of excuses to not travel and to not write. I think "oh, well... it's not what I 'do'" or "there are people who travel far more often than I do" and "there are people who actually write for a living and I'm not one of them" or "who do you think you are?" Welcome to the inner critic.

So a couple years ago at Alt Summit I was sharing this dream to travel and write with my roomie and dear friend Danielle (aka The Jealous Curator). She gave me some tough love, paired with Canadian kindness, and said "Well, then... you need to travel. And write." I have the platform for it right here – there's no reason to not be living the dream. But instead I launched my own business and gave myself more excuses (see above) to not travel and write.

Then in a moment of kismet and the Universe answering my dreams I had the opportunity to write about travel – and not just here on the blog – but to actually be published and paid for it. Elisabeth and Miya of The Equals Record invited me to write on the topic of Exploration and uncharted territory. So of course I wrote about Nepal – I condensed my story to less than 2,000 words and reflected on what the trip really meant. How it changed me to my core. (It's funny because the writing the story itself became a dreaded chore that kept getting bumped on my to-do list – the day before the final deadline I reminded myself that this is exactly what I wanted! To travel and write. And to get published no less!)

For the last year The Equals Record has been publishing essays and photography by talented women. They were inspired to create a space for women to write and read about substantive issues such as travel, politics, online culture, and work/life balance after giving ourselves some creative space. Now, a year later, they're taking it offline.

The Equals Record is committed to remaining ad-free. Which means they need to raise some money to make this project happen. They're raising $15,000 (or more, hopefully) to launch a publishing platform committed to promoting substantive content from up-and-coming writers, photographers, and illustrators. The inaugural print edition of Equals will include over 30 essays around the theme of "exploration", with four major sections devoted to cartography, uncharted territory, nostalgia, and souvenirs. Equals contributors' words are enhanced by outstanding photography and custom illustrations.



With just 18 days left they still need to raise almost $6,000. You can buy the book at a reduced rate or purchase a limited edition gift package here. Please support this project.