Samwise the Anxious: A Traveler's Tale

Life has been hectic with the holidays coming fast as I’m sure everyone else feels the same way. It’s harder to find time to escape and take new adventures lately with so much going on. With that being said, I somehow feel like I am close to finding a good balance in my life, I have a good feeling lately. Anyway, outside of traveling, regular day to day life is full of anxieties too and I feel it is just as important to talk about those moments from time to time. I find that writing has become a good coping mechanism for me and my panic attacks. In the midst of one I pull out my notes tab on my phone and just write what I’m feeling in the moment, and focusing on that has allowed me to snap out of panic mode faster and I can look for ways to turn the situation into a positive once I’ve calmed down. This brings me to my most recent panic attack. As a lot of people know, my best friend in the entire world, my companion, my pup named Scooby Doo was diagnosed with a heart con...

Though Ireland seems to have become my muse, I realized it is time I start exploring the hidden gems found right here in the sunshine state. To begin this task, I started with the historic and intriguing Bok Tower Gardens located in Lake Wales, Florida, about an hour and a half south of Orlando (near Lakeland). This unique location has a lot to offer being that it is a national historic landmark containing an expansive garden, a bird sanctuary, the celebrated Pinewood Estate, and the memorable Singing Tower. A few friends and I planned a day of learning, exploring, and picnicking. But there was one lesson we discovered that we should already have known by now - always plan for rain on a Florida outing. The weather was perfect, bright and sunny for the whole drive to Lake Wales. Almost as soon as we arrived, the weather took a turn for the worst and rained the rest of the time we were there. But we didn’t let that stop us from having the exciting day we planned! ...