A rainy-day trip to see Toy Story 5 unexpectedly brought me back to the little girl who believed bicycles were Cadillacs, frogs deserved wedding ceremonies, and imagination had no expiration date. Sometimes the best movies don't just entertain us—they remind us who we used to be.

I spent years dreaming about the West Coast, convinced it was the place I was meant to be. What I didn't realize was that I wasn't chasing a destination—I was chasing a feeling. A birthday trip to Arizona helped me find it—and it might just be the place where I start my next chapter.

I pay rent. I have a car payment. I have student loans. And yet somehow I am still booking flights. Travel isn’t something I do because I am wealthy—it’s something I do because I make it a part of my life. Here is how I make it affordable for my lifestyle and why I believe more women can do it too.

Happy birthday to me.

And Happy Birthday to every version of Little Avery that deserved softer days, louder laughter, uncondtional love, and a future she could finally look forwatd to.

This year has been about healing her, protecting her, and becoming the woman she always needed.

What started as a girls’ night filled with music, movemnt, and nervous giggles turned into something unexpectedly emotional: women reconnecting with themselves without shame attached to it. Somewhere between twerking, vulnerbability, and a guided meditation on my living room floor, I realized confidence is really about feeling at home withn yourself.

A spontaneous Saturday, a reading slump, and the kind of bookstore that reminded me why I fell in love with reading in the first place.

Travel has a way of showing who you are when everything familiar no longer fulfills you. Travel has taught me to open my eyes more and reflect.