Author Archives: admin

The Art of Living: Mastering the Mind, and Finding Forgiveness

“Have you forgiven yourself?”, she asked.

“Yes.”, I replied. For the first time, I believed it.

Many of my friends are aware that I did a vipassana retreat in mid-October. To say the technique changed my life would be an understatement. Some people have asked me to share my experience, and I’ve grappled with how to do so because of how my expectations were influenced as a result of hearing about other people’s experiences. I hope that by sharing what mine was like, I can encourage others to commit to their own journey of self-reflection and mindfulness. If you are considering doing a vipassana in the future, I ask that you take my experience with a grain of salt, because your experience might be wildly different from mine.

Continue reading

City Guide: San Diego, California

San Diego is one of the most stunning cities in the world. Surrounded by sand and water, there’s a number of ways to spend your time in San Diego, especially if you love food and nature. Home to the best tacos in America, and truly world-class beaches, it’s one of those places you’ll instantly find yourself slowing down and stopping to smell the roses once you’re there. I spent 4 years in San Diego for college, and have compiled a few of my favorite places! Places marked with two asterisks (**) are particular to San Diego–meaning you’ll have difficulty finding a place of similar caliber outside SD.

Continue reading

City Guide: Shanghai, China

(Last Updated: Apr 1 2018)

Shanghai is my favorite city in the world (tied with San Francisco). I’ve lived there twice in my life, the second time for three years. If you want the absolute best food scene in the whole world (not exaggerating), the craziest nightlife, and a glimpse of what the future will look like, I highly recommend paying a visit, or even better–spending a few months to one year in the city. It’s such a special place to me, so I put together this guide for others to experience a bit of the magic Shanghai showed me. These recommendations lived as a Google Doc for a few years and have been shared with hundreds of friends and Airbnb guests–so I’m glad they’re now a bit more accessible to those venturing to China!

Shanghai changes super quickly, so it’s highly likely that places listed here will be closed or renovating. If this is a case, please do me a huge favor and leave a comment so I can keep the list up-to-date for other travelers.

Continue reading