In nursing school I worked in the ICU, where I found myself holding the hands of those passing from this life to the next. And it was in these times, stories were shared of regrets made, risks not taken, and the safe choices that never satisfied. 

During my nursing career their words lingered in my ears—I developed a strong sense that storytelling is a necessary part of the human experience, and gives space for our lives to be fulfilled, offering a sense of connection and belonging among future generations. Likewise, I felt as though I was living a life I wouldn’t want on my last breath.

Recognizing my dreams of traveling and being a poet & artist were dying, I shared my concern to my husband, Paul. The next day we started looking at campers and he surprised me with art supplies labeling them with my potential business name (tearing up). We found a 1976 Avion Travelcader, renovated it over several years, and had a dream route mapped out—visiting the lower 48 National Parks, Lakeshores, and Seashores. After years of saving, completing the renovations, and living in the camper for a year, we quit our jobs and went into the unknown. 

After traveling for many months we landed at Johnson Beach in Gulf Shores National Seashore. It was in the quiet moments of being back at my childhood beach, I took out a dusty, mini canvas, my old paintbrushes, and a journal. You see, I met my inner child on that beach, reigniting what I thought was lost, what truly makes me alive—nature, painting, and writing poetry. 

Finishing the sentimental, tiny landscape and poem on the sandy shore, I recognized the simplistic beauty found in grainy nature making its way onto the little colorful canvas, and coinciding words providing insight on my thoughts while painting. Each serving as a visual and written memory—telling its own part in the same story and thus, ‘The Journey,’ was born.