Uncover my story

On May 10, 2024, confetti floated in the air, hats were tossed, and names were called. I stood up, walked across the stage, and was handed a piece of paper. My whole life had worked up to this moment. I stepped off the stage and realized—I had done it. I graduated college. I was officially an adult adult.

And at 22 years old, I was immediately hit with the most dreaded question of your early twenties: So… what’s next?

Fast forward to now. I’m 23, living in Bangkok, Thailand, teaching kiddos and figuring life out as I go. Hi, I’m Kristen—welcome to my adventure.

At just 22 years old, I packed up my life and moved to Asia. This may sound crazy to some, or maybe it sounds realistic as society becomes more and more familiar with travel. I made this decision knowing three things about myself:

1. I love exploring new places and cultures.
2. I wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone.
3. There would never be a better time than right now.

So… why not now?

I packed one suitcase, a carry-on, and a backpack and flew halfway across the world. A life-altering decision—one most people talk themselves out of. We’re experts at excuses: too scary, too expensive, too far, too soon. But it’s a decision I think more people should make.

One of my favorite quotes says, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” And honestly? The world is huge, life is short, and the things worth doing are usually the ones that scare you the most. Growth doesn’t happen in comfort—it happens when you jump.

If you stay in the same town, living the same life, you’ll never know what you’re missing. People get so caught up in their own little bubbles that they forget the bigger picture: life really isn’t that serious. We’re all just humans trying to figure out which way is up and which way is down. No one has it all figured out—how could we? We’re literally bodies of mass floating on a rock in space.

So why not now?

You can always go back.