Suitcase. Backpack. Laptop bag. That’s it. Three bags, in them goes everything I’ll need for a year, covering all seasons. As a minimalist, I find comfort in having my things broken down to simple necessity. Here’s a breakdown.

Clothes: Two pairs of shoes (running/all-purpose &Vans). Flip flops. Jacket. Hoodie. Gloves. Winter hat. Scarf. Six pairs of shorts (two casual, two running, one hiking, swimsuit). Six pairs of pants (black, khaki, gray, two pairs of jeans, pajama bottoms). Twenty + shirts (short, long, collar, button-up, etc.) Dozen pair of socks and underwear each. Belt.

Accessories: Phone. Laptop. Mouse. Kindle Fire. USB stick. Headphones. Various charging cords. HDMI cable. Umbrella. External hard-drive. Portable charger. External speaker. Headlamp. Spare batteries. Electrical converters. Two notebooks. Pens. Sewing kit. Small backpack. Toiletry bag. Electric shaver. Razor and spare blades. Medicine. Toothbrush (plus spare). Toothpaste. Floss. Shampoo & Conditioner. Body Wash. Lotion. Sunscreen. Sunglasses. Towel. Spare pair of glasses. Box of contacts. Reusable bags. Book to read. Water bottle. Snacks.

Coming up next . . . Iceland

My first theater experience was, in a word, incredible. Come from Away is one of those entertaining shows that pulls no punch and hits on all emotional levels, mixing sadness and joy so effortlessly that you can’t tell if your tears are from laughing or crying. For those of you not familiar, Come from Away tells the true story of how during the events of 9/11, thirty-eight planes were grounded in Newfoundland, Canada, where for a five-day period, the entire town of Gander opened up their arms and homes, providing food, shelter, clothes, and entertainment for thousands of strangers stranded during one of the world’s most tragic and uncertain times. It is a story of hope and kindness, showing the beauty that unfolds when people come together.

My first reaction, no way could that happen in the States, especially in today’s political climate. My fellow Americans would never show such open and unselfish kindness to complete strangers. But then again, people surprise you. Sometimes we all just need a reminder of our capacity for good. Come from Away did just that for me. Proving that even during the worst of times there is still potential for our best. We just have to be willing to give it.

Summer, as it always does, flies. This has been a busy one, equally divided between three countries (the past, present, and future all tangled into one). Goodbyes in Qatar, followed by hellos in Canada, and, of course, a return trip home to Michigan. New experiences mixed with old. Toronto. Lindsay. Ottawa. Haliburton. Algonquin Provincial Park. Niagara Falls. Lovells. Traverse City. Glen Arbor. Clear Lake. Topped off with a childhood favorite, Mackinac Island. Don’t know where I’ll be next summer, but I’m sure it’ll be here before I know it and gone twice as fast.

You know that feeling you get when you’re about twenty pages into a book and you’re finally all in, committed to the story, the characters, and where it’s going. Life is like that too, especially when you move to a new place. At first, it’s strange. Unknown. Exciting. A little scary, which only fuels the excitement. Sometimes it grabs a hold of you right from the get-go. Other times you have to warm to it. Or maybe it’s just not for you, no matter how much time and effort you put into it. Then it’s time to move on. Doha was an easy place to fall into. It had all the comforts of home, while also being foreign enough to keep it interesting. For an expat, that’s all you need.

What I love most about England, and Europe as a whole, is how effortlessly it blends the new with the old. Nothing depresses me more than the modern-day, mall-sized sprawl, where they paved paradise to put up a parking lot, and nothing lifts me more than to walk down a cobbled street or quiet country road in the middle of nowhere with dry stone fences to keep in the sheep or stroll through the ruins of some forgotten castle. The Romans left us their roads. And the way we’re heading, our legacy will be our plastic. I’ll take the roads any day, even if they are bumpy and uneven.

Sometimes you travel alone, sometimes you travel with company. My mom has read and heard about my travels for many years now. This time she got to experience it herself. In London and the Lake District, we got to retrace some of the steps of my last visit (with my 96-year-old grandfather who hadn’t been there since WW II) while also forging some of our own. It was a fitting place for her to get her first stamp on her brand-new passport. Traveling is all about taking that initial step. After that it’s easy and addictive.

Everyone should go to Nepal at least once in their lifetime. The natural beauty will inspire you. The rampant poverty will humble you. The friendly, welcoming people will soften your hard edges. And the crowded, polluted streets of Kathmandu will give you pause. You can’t go there and feel nothing. Most venture to Nepal just to say they climbed the world’s tallest mountain and in doing so they miss the whole point of exploration. You go for the sake of going, not the sake of arriving.

You don’t have to be religious to be awed by places of worship. The closest thing I have to religion is art. All it requires is an appreciation for anything beautiful. Like, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, a marvel of architecture and design. Creativity is after all, humanity’s ambitious attempt to reach the divine, to be our own creator or gods, to create something greater than our individual parts.