Welcome, Shalom שׁלום (I love this word because it means peace, hello, and goodbye all wrapped into a few letters) and thank you for joining me on this wild journey! I'm Sarah or as friends call me skriegs, many of you already know me and if I don't know you yet, I can't wait for us to be friends! *Virtual hugs*
I love the meaning behind names. My first name in Hebrew means princess and my last name in German means warrior. All together Princess Warrior sounds pretty cool to me. If you don't know the meaning or origin of your name I highly recommend looking it up and learning more about it!
I am from Upstate NY ( born and raised in Rochester and attended/graduated college in Ithaca). I love learning, my poodle, taking photos, binge-watching comedies, and eating/drinking my way through new places. Travel is important to me not only to learn more about others but myself, prove that I can do it, eat, sightsee, and meet new interesting people. While visiting Yad Vashem Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. I read a quote from a child murdered in Auschwitz. He inspires me to live out his wildest dream. Abramek Koplowicz said, "When I grow up and get to be twenty I'll travel and see the world of plenty. In a bird with an engine, I will sit myself down. Take off and fly into space, far above the ground. I'll fly, I'll cruise and soar up high above a world so lovely, into the sky..." Travel is a privilege only offered to some. This is especially true with where you are from; I'm lucky to have the power of an American passport.
Why have I always loved taking photos and showcasing them? Well, it starts with my family ... They have taken a bunch regardless if we are traveling or just enjoying each other's company. Growing up the house was covered in memories with photographs. I not only wanted to preserve my memories through photographs but through writing and potentially videos (to come). I've already had friends ask for vlogs... lol YUP, seriously I've been asked HAHA at least some people enjoy my word vomit. ;)
Words have power and I've journaled/written bullet lists over the years on different adventures and have been asked from time to time for suggestions when visiting places. Whenever I travel somewhere new, I talk with family/friends about suggestions and I love reading other blogs on their favorite restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and things to do. Now is my opportunity to return the favor of recommendations.
I find it cathartic to write and look back at memories in a photo or video format. This may be the reason why I can be a fan of social media. The various platforms also provide us with a way to connect with our people, friends, or family around the world. It's also a place where we can feel sooo much FOMO (fear of missing out is so real no matter your age).
It's taken me a bit of time to conclude that I want to blog. I'm making no promises on how often I will blog but instead continuing to until it doesn't spark joy anymore. Do we have any Marie Kondo fans? I think this space could also make me laugh in years to come if I re-read blog posts or have future significant others read this or kiddos I work with or have. It's also 2020 and we are currently going through the Covid-19 Pandemic and life is anything but ordinary. We are currently quarantined in our homes and when we do leave we must wear a mask and "social distance". Instead of calling it social distancing, I think it should be called physical distancing. We should still be connected to others but virtually. I haven't been inside any store or building beside my own home since the middle of March and I'm writing this the first week in May with my fluffy friend next to me. Chloe is a chocolate-colored toy poodle.
This blog/creative content idea seemed like a fun project to get going. I've already applied to countless jobs, started working out more regularly with the Peleton app, hiking trails in my area, brushing up on Hebrew with DuoLingo and Rosetta Stone, learning to code, cleaning/reorganizing my home, catching up with family and friends, reading, watching more content than I ever have at one time...as you can see a lengthy list of activities, but I still was due for a new project. This is that project, creating content in writing, video, and photo form (and I guess updating and maintaining this website should be added to the list). It's nice to walk down memory lane while "bored in the house and in the house bored". It is such a catchy song and a pretty good way to describe our current situation. For evidence you can watch my latest video I made while I've been dreaming of traveling again.
I hope we can all be reunited soon in person and create a new better normal and I can continue this travel blog in real-time rather than looking back on past trips. I go through cycles of how I feel during this Coronavirus pandemic. Highs and lows but honestly I'm lucky and comfortable right now considering how many people are sick. Some thoughts are- "we'll get through this, "we're doomed", "I feel so connected to everyone and also no one", "our lives will never be the same" (good and bad). There is so much information but not much knowledge, it's gotten to the point that every hour there is a new update and it feels like we are in an onion satire article but no this is our reality during the pandemic.
Like everyone else, I'm not perfect, so get ready for typos and grammatical errors but also my raw and honest feelings. Maybe you'll even hear my voice pop off the entries by the way I write. Yes, I will proofread (also shoutout to Grammarly) and some photos/videos may be grainy (all taken on my phone but some on a camera), which is why we will set the bar low okayyyy great and now lower that bar HA perfect now we can begin since this is a fun project. I've had many posts in draft mode, a bit nervous to take the plunge. I keep re-reading and adding and taking away and I'm not sure I'll ever feel satisfied (cue the Hamilton Broadway soundtrack of Satisfied, I hope we have some music fans in the audience). Guess it's good I'm not writing a hard copy book and with the wonderful web, changes can be made. I have edited/created a guide for work but there were so many eyes and authors on that, whereas this is a one gal show. Even this blog post has been sitting in my head and then drafted before hitting the small shiny blue publish button.
What topics would you like to hear about? For now, I'd like to focus on travel but may in the future want to expand.
PS Copyright information- All text and images on this website belong to me unless noted otherwise. Thank you!
Lehitraot, (In Hebrew it means to see you again, instead of goodbye which sounds final)
Sarah
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