Every single day we have little instances that make us stop and think, “What is this?” or as I like to say, “What Are This?” Those instances—and how we react to them—are what make us who we are. This blog is dedicated to those moments, whether they are hilarious, random, haunting, goofy, intriguing, deep, or a combination of all of the above.

What Are This started as an experiment my freshman year of college. I have, since, deleted a few original posts that were… well… absolutely horrible now that I think about them, but I kept a few to add character. What Are This was first devoted to humor. You’ll still see quite a bit of humor in it today, but it’s not all silliness anymore.

What Are This eventually transitioned to a travel blog. I studied abroad by living on a ship for a semester and explored the world. Yeah, really. I wrote about my experiences and learned that I enjoyed sharing them. After I graduated, What Are This went international again as I became a media coordinator for Harlaxton College, a study abroad program in a 19th-century manor house in England (I promise I’m not making this stuff up). It was then that I realized I wanted to continue traveling the globe and take readers along for the ride. I’m currently the lead travel recruiter for a university, which means I get to wander around this big world and meet the most amazing people on my adventures.

So what is What Are This? It’s a combination of entertainment, issues, and my life’s saga of randomness. Look for posts involving everything from hilarious conversations I’ve overheard in a coffee shop to untold stories of phenomenal people to the adventures I have as I travel.

Its title is representative of its content as a whole. I’m well-aware that “What are this?” is grammatically incorrect. It’s unorthodox and obscure, but it kind of sounds cool and it makes you think. Hopefully reading my posts will do so as well. This blog is your view of the world through the eyes of a young adult. I’ve traveled the globe and had some unique experiences, but I’m still figuring life out. I have some good thoughts, but they’re not always the norm. Maybe they’ll make you think differently.

Whether you’re a dedicated reader or someone just passing by to browse a single post, I want to thank you for taking the time to peruse my thoughts—to ponder the moments that make me stop and say, “What are this?” As you live and experience life, I hope you stop and think about those moments too.