like a wild mountain rose.

paparazzi.

meet my friend alicia. 

she is one of the most interesting people i know. full of life and an adventurous spirit. i think i could just sit and talk to her for days, never getting bored or having an awkward silence. i think you would find this to be true as well. 

q: please explain what it is that you do {occupation}? 
a: well, i am a nurse. a registered one at that. i've worked mainly in trauma-surgical intensive care and i've loved it. really, it's fun! over the past year, i've turned into a "travel nurse." a gypsy nurse. a professional nomad. i'm contracted out and move every 3-4 months to hospitals that are short staffed and need a quick fix- and a already trained nurse they can use to fill the holes brought on by (for instance) an unexpected boom in patient census. i guess it's kind of like a frozen dinner... it'll get you by for the time being, it's quick and requires little effort in the preparation. 

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, right across from where our camp was.

q: how did you make the decision to be a "travel nurse?"
a: last year i found myself at a crossroads in life. i had what my mom calls the "travel bug" (and i get that from her...) and this desire to move on. i had no idea where i wanted to "end up" in life... and I didn't feel ready to embark on the inevitable grad school journey. yet i wanted a little more out of the here and now. enter travel nursing. the parents were "less than amused" at me wanting to move so far from home. "why? when you have such a great life here?" it was true, i was unbelievably happy in alabama. i had a great job with great people and my family was close at hand. but there's a whole big country out there that needs exploring. why wait, when you have nothing but a little unknown holding you back? i knew i'd regret it if i never went. plus, this gig is essentially a sampler platter of cities. i could take and learn from each one, stay just long enough to get comfy then hit the road for something new. so i packed everything i could fit in my car, my dog pete as co-captain, and off we went. 

hollywood & highland.

q: what is the greatest lesson you've learned through this experience?
a: i can easily say this has been the best year of my life thus far. i turned 25. for my birthday i got some smile lines and a few life realizations. maturity milestones! i'd say the best thing i've learned this year is tolerance. i've been exposed to new personalities and cultures i would have never experience back "home." i've been in awesome situations and terrible situations. through all of this i've learned the importance of that unconditional love that makes the world go round. everyone and everything is unique, and there's something worth loving about each part of it all. 

my birthday lunch. i wanted LA's finest bacon wrapped hotdog.

q: what is it that you love?
a: things i love? oh the list goes on! my favorite loves: pete {her dog}, my hometown {huntsville}, a brass section, organ and a gospel choir {preferably all together}, moss, bulleit bourbon, mail, mixtapes, smartwools, procrastination {guilty pleasure}, cupcakes, the great unknown. 

me and my brother, alex, after "the game."

where there is love {and the travel bug}, 

there is art.