I grew up on the Veluwe, which is a wooded area in the Netherlands. When I was young, I used to go for long walks in the forest with my mom, dad and brother. It was something we did every Sunday, and it quickly became a family tradition. When we were at home, the garden was our favourite place to be. I played games with my brother all day long, which were led by our imagination. I also remember exploring every corner, every tree, and every animal that I could find in that garden, without it ever getting boring. I also used to read a lot as a child. I could easily devour five books a week, as I loved to be taken away by a story. Years later, when we moved to the south of the Netherlands, I started to lose this creativity, fondness for stories, and my connection to nature. High school came, and I became busy with making new friends, experimenting with make-up, and going to parties. ‘’Being liked’’ became very important to me, and my big social circle and busy social life felt like a comforting proof that I was doing alright. The only times when I fell into my old passions was when I was travelling with my family, road-tripping through Europe, taking every chance we got for sight-seeing and nature hikes. Occasionally, I also grabbed a book again, just before I fell asleep in a local hotel or Bed & Breakfast. However, this faded away as soon as we returned home, and I became busy with my usual routine again.

A few years later, things started to change. In 2018, I lived in Helsinki for a few months. I moved to a new country, and was going to be in an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar people. This may sound a little bit scary, but it turned out to be not so scary at all. Going there alone, and being out of my comfort zone, forced me to make new connections, and really made me think about myself again. What did I want to do with my time there? And who did I want to do it with? It turned out, I wanted to have a handful of amazing people, go outside, explore as much as possible with them, listen to their stories, and together create new ones. I realized that this curiosity I felt reminded me of my childhood, which created such an amazing feeling inside me. Also, my passion for stories turned out to be more than just reading good books. I met so many inspiring people, and when someone told me a story, it allowed me to connect with them, whether it was someone I just met or a total stranger. Listening to their stories was like sharing the experience with them. That is what makes storytelling so unique. Through stories we can pass on experiences, or share passions, fears, joys and sadness. We find common ground with people who then turn out to be not so different from ourselves.

This is one of the things that inspired me to start this blog. I want to keep being curious:  continue my quest to meet new people, go into nature, explore and make new connections. And I would like to write stories about the things that I encounter on the way. These stories can be about anything, like little pieces from a personal diary. Maybe you will read about one particular experience, thought or struggle that you can connect with. And if not, that is also perfectly alright.

Either way, I’m happy that you’re here!