The Emptiness of Travel

April 12, 2017 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Life In Your 20's, life lessons

Since second grade, I wanted to travel the world. Back then, I wanted to be a teacher in China. Later, I wanted to be an Egyptologist. Sometime in middle school, I became enamored with Europe and wanted to see the likes of Barcelona, Rome, and Paris. At 14, I learned about the Peace Corps, and that became my ultimate goal.

For a long while, travel was my passion, my pursuit, my life dream. From my grounded, stateside, never-been-on-a-plane, never-seen-the-Alps, never-seen-the-Pyramids, never-seen-Canada perspective, travel was adventure, it was purpose, and it was fulfillment. Nothing else would really matter if I could stand on a savannah, dip my toes in another ocean, hike the Italian countryside, or watch the sun set on the other side of the globe.

The Airbnb Host Who Shouldn't Be

March 13, 2017 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, life lessons, Life In Your 20's

I've used Airbnb many times while traveling abroad, one of which I've even documented on this blog. I don't require much of where I stay: just a place to sleep, shower, and where I can keep my belongings while out and about. I prefer my host to be helpful, but not overbearing. And now I need to add, I'd also prefer my host not to be a nitpick - because if you're a nitpick, then you probably shouldn't even be a host.

How to Vacation Without a Stove: an Airbnb Story

October 13, 2016 by astoldoverbrunch in Guest Post, Humor, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Leisure

I have a standing vacation date with my best friend from high school. Ever since the two of us graduated college and she moved up to NYC, I’ve taken the train to visit her for an extended girls’ weekend.

But this year, both of us confessed that we felt more burnt out than usual. We’d talked about vacation plans near the end of February when the world was cold and dreary. Maybe we should go somewhere new? Work had me so exhausted that all I wanted to do was sit on a beach somewhere and not move for hours. While walking ten miles through Manhattan each day is fun, that wasn’t the vacation I needed this year.

So rather than buying my usual train ticket, I started searching Airbnb for places all up and down the East Coast.

Punta Cana: A Guilt Trip in Paradise

May 29, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized

As I'm sitting on the plane, peeling and satisfied from a week in the Dominican Republic, I am conflicted on my sentiments toward the trip.

I spent five days and six nights in Punta Cana and the Majestic Elegance Resort, which is nothing short of paradise.

When West Egg Meets East Egg: Dating Outside Your Bracket

April 22, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Life In Your 20's

Peasant meets prince

They met through friends. They didn't really get to know each other before they hooked up. Sometime afterward, they began to get to know one another through texting and maybe hanging out before hooking up again. At some point, she realized he was rich. Ungodly rich. As in, he had ancestors. And when you can mention your ancestors, then your privilege is rooted deeper than the skyscrapers and McMansions that encase privilege.

He made comments like, “People just don’t get it here.” Here being this place where people have student loans and didn't necessarily get a new car when they turned 16.

Me, Myself, and Miami

April 20, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, Life In Your 20's

Recently, I had the chance to go to Miami for a conference. Obviously I jumped at this since I had never been to Miami before, and I hardly blinked when I learned I would effectively be alone. I had always wanted to travel by myself, and two days to explore Miami excited me.

I hit up a couple of friends who knew something about Miami and told myself I would read up more before I took off. Of course that didn't happen. I arrived in Miami with the two item bucket list of seeing Wynwood and South Beach.

Travel Refreshes Your Perspective

April 16, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized, Work, Young Professionalism

As I sit here, staring out at the setting sun across the San Fransisco skyline, my inspiration is renewed. There's something about being entrenched in the hustle of a place like San Fransisco. And while I've only been here for about eight hours, and seen little more than the view from my hotel window, the local ABC station and a very fancy French restaurant, I like it here. I wish I could have taken a picture of my meal tonight, as it was perfect in every way that you could hope for, however, I wasn't in a setting which Instagramming your food seemed appropriate.

Maybe it's the fact I've been awake now since 3AM, and according to my internal clock, we're quickly approaching midnight and I'm delusional. Maybe it's the Mumford and Son's I'm currently humming along to, but there's nothing I would quite change about this scenario. The shower had a fancy head, huge fluffy white towels greeted me upon my exit, and I have my choice between two equally soft white beds. But this is feeling like a dream.