Live Life Your Way

We Are One With The World

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    My First Blog Post

    August 19, 2019 by

    Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken. — Oscar Wilde. Truer words cannot be spoken more than these ones above from the Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, whose grave I actually visited in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. I’ve had a tough time being myself throughout my life. Too often, I look at other people and… Read more

  • My Year : 2020

    November 18, 2020 by

    It has been a very long time since I last wrote a blog entry and I apologize for that. Part of it was laziness, I will be straight forth right here and there, and the other was work and a lot of activities going on this year, to say the least. Like many others this… Read more

  • My Hometown

    May 22, 2020 by

    It has been a very long time since I last made a blog post. During this time of quarantine, I’ve been staying busy through schoolwork and my occupation at Saint Peter’s University as a graduate assistant. It hasn’t always been easy to stay focused but I’ve been trying my best. One of the ways I… Read more

  • My favorite travel memories

    April 3, 2020 by

    By now, you know I’ve been to Italy, France and the United Kingdom and you also know that I’ve treasured each of those experiences and they each transformed me into a better person. But I want to go a little deeper and share some specific memories from each of these trips. I love to reminisce… Read more

  • Coronavirus Pandemic

    March 18, 2020 by

    As I am writing this blog post, my mind is racing rapidly with little or no thought or preparation being put into it. This is a rarity for me but I feel that in order for me to get the most out of this post is by talking what is on my mind as of… Read more

  • The Power of Music

    March 6, 2020 by

    Like most people, I love music. I can’t think of anybody who doesn’t like to listen to it and for me personally, music possesses an indescribable power. When I listen intently to music that appeals to me, it’s as if I am wrapped up from head to toe in this blanket of imagination. My mind… Read more

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  • My travel group from high school before departing for our Italy trip in April 2014.
  • La Basilica of San Giovanni Bosco- Easter 2014.
  • St. John Bosco’s house in Italy.
  • My junior high school classmates and I pose for pictures.
  • This island, Poveglia Island, was right across the water from our hotel in Venice. It was featured on the Travel Channel’s, Ghost Adventures.
  • A restaurant we went to on our first day in Venice.
  • Gondolas in Venice.
  • St. Mark’s Square.
  • Thousands of people walk around the square.
  • Close-up view of the gondolas.
  • Me posing on the bridge in front of the gondolas. I was 17 years old at the time.
  • This might be my favorite picture I’ve ever taken.
  • The “Leaning,” Tower of Pisa.
  • Early morning in Florence.
  • Other side of the bridge.
  • This picture was taken on our first night in Florence. We all left after our group dinner and enjoyed the nightly scenery.
  • Another photo taken at night in Florence.
  • The Florence Duomo Ceiling.
  • This area was very crowded but very beautiful. It was a bright, warm spring day. I forget the name of this village unfortunately.
  • This was a cathedral that had something to do with saints. Like I said, don’t really remember this part of the trip that much, except my friend stole my ballcap and I charged him and snagged it back.
  • This picture was actually taken from a bathroom.
  • A group of kids pose for a picture right in front of this gorgeous grass area.
  • This is the San Damiano cross I believe.
  • This beach was right outside of our hotel in Rome.
  • The Vatican.
  • Seats are all set for the Canonization of  Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.
  • The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument.
  • Roman Colosseum.
  • Me posing inside the Colosseum.
  • The Trevi Fountain.
  • Me in Tampa, Florida, March 2019.
  • Lake Tahoe, June 2017.
  • Me below the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, June 2017.
  • Me standing in front of Notre Dame in Paris, May 2019. This photo was taken exactly one month after it was caught on fire.
  • Notre Dame from the side, May 2019. This photo was taken exactly one month after it was caught on fire.
  • Me standing across the street from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, May 2019.
  • View of the Eiffel Tower from atop the Arc de Triomphe, May 2019.
  • The city of Paris from atop the Arc de Triomphe, May 2019.
  • The beautiful streets of Paris from atop a tour bus, May 2019.
  • Inside Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, May 2019.
  • An aisle in Pere Lachaise, May 2019.
  • Jim Morrison’s grave in Pere Lachaise, May 2019. Thousands visit his gravesite each year.
  • Front gate of Pere Lachaise.
  • Oscar Wilde’s grave in Pere Lachaise, May 2019.
  • Eiffel Tower from the ground, May 2019.
  • View from atop the Eiffel Tower, May 2019.
  • Notre Dame from atop the Eiffel Tower, May 2019.
  • City of Paris from atop the Eiffel Tower, May 2019.
  • Me atop the Eiffel Tower, May 2019.
  • Eiffel Tower lightshow at night. 2019 marked the 130th anniversary of the tower’s opening. Photo taken May 2019.
  • The front of the Louvre Museum.
  • The Egyptian Section of the Louvre, May 2019.
  • A sculpture at the Louvre, May 2019.
  • Another section of the Louvre. This museum is massive, I was exhausted just from walking around, May 2019.
  • Mona Lisa, May 2019.
  • Streets of London, UK, May 2019.
  • A pub in London, May 2019.
  • The London Eye, May 2019.
  • Me posing for a picture in front of the London Eye, May 2019.
  • Big Ben under renovation. It looked like a soda bottle, May 2019.
  • Westminster Abbey, May 2019.
  • Buckingham Palace, May 2019.
  • Me standing outside a phone booth in London, May 2019.
  • The Tower of London, May 2019.
  • Tower Bridge, May 2019.
  • Inside Westminster Abbey, May 2019.
  • An image inside of Westminster Abbey, May 2019.
  • Me standing in the garden of Westminster Abbey, May 2019.
This is a map of the world with the countries that I’ve visited highlighted in blue.

The following is the list of countries that I’ve visited as of the time I’ve written this- Feb. 7 (my birthday), 2021.

  1. United States (13 states- NY, NJ, PA, MA, CA (summer 2017), FL, IL, OH (spring 2017), MD, TX (winter 2018), SC (summer 2019), CT, IA (spring 2017)
  2. Canada (Montreal, Quebec- summer 2011)
  3. Dominican Republic (Punta Cana- winter 2011)
  4. Puerto Rico (San Juan- winter 2018)
  5. Turks and Caicos (winter 2014)
  6. Anguilla (winter 2009)
  7. Colombia (Cartagena- winter 2018)
  8. France (Paris- spring 2019)
  9. Italy (Turin, Venice, Florence, Rome- spring 2014)
  10. United Kingdom (London- spring 2019)
  11. Vatican City (spring 2014)
This is my first travel vlog. It documents a family trip I took to Cartagena, Colombia, over the New Year’s holiday, 2018-2019. It was a life-changing trip because it was the first time I undertook an “explorior,” approach to traveling. In other words, I tried living in the moment as best as I could and did what I felt was the best way for me to enjoy this adventure.
This is the first vlog, documenting my Europe trip to Paris, France and London, UK, in May 2019.
This is the second vlog, documenting my Europe trip to Paris, France and London, UK, in May 2019.
This is the third vlog, documenting my Europe trip to Paris, France and London, UK, in May 2019.
This is the fourth vlog, documenting my Europe trip to Paris, France and London, UK, in May 2019.
This is the fifth vlog, documenting my Europe trip to Paris, France and London, UK, in May 2019.
This is bonus content from my Europe trip.

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MY LOVE OF TRAVELING

In April of 2014, during my junior year of high school, I went on a class trip to Italy during Easter Break. We visited four cities: Turin, Venice, Florence and Rome. It was not only my first time visiting Europe, but my first time really traveling on my own and seeing the world. The whole experience was life-changing for myself. As someone who until that point wasn’t into traveling, this trip changed my whole perspective on the world and what secrets and treasures it contained.

The trip taught me to be more open to trying out different aspects of lifestyles such as food, language and religion. It also taught me to be a much more humble and responsible individual because I had to look out for myself. I love the fact that there are differences around the world because if everything was the same, life would be boring. Anybody can learn anything from one another regardless of one’s background.

When I got back to the U.S. from that trip, I knew that traveling was something I wanted to do much more often. I continued traveling to different states in the U.S. such as Iowa, California and Texas. In December 2018, I went to South America for the first time with my family. We visited Cartagena, Colombia, which was a nice, warm energetic location consisting of sticky mud baths, glorious beaches, magical temples and tons of fish, beef and chickens to go along with it all.

During that trip, I filmed all of my experiences on a cheap pocket camera and made a documentary. I did this for a specific reason. As my curiosity for traveling grew, I dove into some travel channels on YouTube and subsequently came across one channel that would change my life forever. The channel belongs to Jacob Laukaitis, a 25-year-old man from Lithuania, who lives by the motto, “Stay Curious.” Jacob has been traveling the world for seven years, dating back to when he graduated high school at 19.

He’s been everywhere, from Oman to Indonesia, from North to South Korea, from India to Uzbekistan, from Mexico to Iran, and so on and so forth. Jacob’s love for traveling and his enthusiastic personality have captivated my imagination and have just drawn me more into traveling in general. His adventures around the world have inspired me to be a better and stronger-minded person. Towards the end of 2018, I started following Jacob much more closely and began leaving comments under his videos. Naturally, he responded and that really started a friendship.

At the beginning of 2019, Jacob announced he was going to divide $2,100 over the first three months of the year ($700 per month). That money would go to his “Fan of the Month,” and that fan would win flight tickets to anywhere around the world. All the fans had to do was subscribe to his channel, and post a comment within the first 60 minutes of publication of a new video with a hashtag #WeAreExploriors written on the comment.

Naturally, I did just that and amazingly, I won the first set of $700, much to my surprise. It was probably the most shocking and thrilling thing that has ever happened to me. I was taken aback and I thought for a good month where I’d most like to go. I had already been to Italy so that was out of the equation for me. I had thought about Asia, specifically Japan, but I felt that that was going to be a bit challenging for me because of the language and the fact that I know little to nothing about Japan and Asian culture in general.

So, I looked towards Europe again and thought about two cities that have always intrigued me; Paris and London. I spoke with my girlfriend, Teresa, who I invited to come along with me on this journey, and we agreed on this trip. We told Jacob and off we went from May 15-22. It was an amazing experience, one that I’ll always cherish for as long as I live.

Having experienced Europe before, I really soaked up everything in Paris and London and made sure to live in the moment. I limited the amount of times I took out my phone and camera cause I wanted to lay my eyes on everything firsthand. To just be away from my home country and see what else is in this magnificent world is truly a blessing, and I’ve realized that everything Jacob taught me and continues to teach me on his channel is true. Traveling makes the world a much more beautiful place and I am so grateful for the ability to do so.

I want to make a living out of it. It makes me feel free, energetic and optimistic. The thought of “what’s next?” excites me to no end and the rush of adrenaline through my body is so addicting that I just want to run away and get lost in the air.

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