‘You only know how strong a community is until you leave it’ these words of Owen from our conversation about community has stuck with me. Yesterday I had my hardest goodbye of my trip so far. Shed some tears and sat on this swing under the starts at this volenteer community. Danny was a person who brought a lot of love to this place. His enthusiasm when explaining wearwolf and our shared moon eyecontact. This human to human love without romance or any sexual notions is so beautiful to me. A big part of my love for this place. I am happy to have gathered this love for him in such a short ammount of time.

This was a pretty shitty day up until the afternoon where I cut Adie’s hair. I haven't cut hair that wasn't my own until then. I felt peak kindled! Getting to ask deep reflection questions while creating confidence and a new edge to someone!! Wow!. This moment bonded me deeply with my three aussies and transformed my day. I have felt truly valued by these three australien girls who i met here in ttio. Adie, Eva and Tegan.

After periods of budget food! The acai bowl, the fruit, the fresh! Happiness one bilion shared with Lauren during a three day food replenishment.

When I was at the airport in Istanbul, I had a 20-hour layover. I stayed in the mosque, resting between flights. When I first arrived, I smiled at a lady, but I didn’t think much of it.

As time passed, though, she began taking such gentle care of me. She gave me something to cover myself with, smiled at me throughout her shift, sent me flying kisses, and even offered me a few oranges. Before she left, she came over, hugged me, and then walked away.

That moment meant so much to me. I didn’t know her, and she didn’t know me — but that simple act of smiling at her when I arrived somehow created this quiet bond between us. It reminded me how powerful small acts of kindness can be.

When I first arrived in Tunis, I was so afraid. The fear of being somewhere new, far from everything familiar. But the people here changed that so quickly. From people offering directions with patience, to kind shop owners greeting me like we know each others before, I realized that warmth speaks every language and that is my magical moment.

Rotorua is a small town around three hours away from Auckland. It is know for its geothermal activity, natural beauty, and its Redwood trees. I had heard from many of my coworkers that the Redwood at night walk was one of the most beautiful things they had seen - they were not wrong. This picture captures the moment of me walking through the trees, almost 200 feet off the ground, and watching the light show brightening up the night sky. In this moment, I was in awe of nature's beauty and how it was combined with thoughtful art. I was grounded, fulfilled, and reminded of my humanity in a way that only nature and art can make you feel.

Art is magic!!! Magic is art!!!

Through a conversation with my host on the nature of imagination and art, this realization hit me. "Is magic real?" was one of the questions I considered of claiming as my animating question at the beginning of my Launch Year. And the universe has told me the answer! It gave me the chills.

My friend Anna invited me to join her and Cecilia to go to the V&A museum in London! It was great to get out of the house and have fun with friends. We also actually saw items in the museum that we had studied together in History class last year so was fun to remember those memories. Also Cecilia gave me top tier advice for when I go to her city, Shanghai.

This feels like cheating, but I cannot pinpoint one magical moment, so I am choosing photography and capturing many moments. In the spirit of trying new things and being bad at them, I have been trying to do mixed media collages purely for fun and to practice something creative that's not too time-consuming, and it has been quite neat.

The chaos of the image above is from three of the most magical moments I've had in Osaka thus far. Visiting the Fushimi-Inari Taisho shrine in Kyoto, attending the annual Yodogawa fireworks festival, and an ode to my love for public transportation here in Japan. My plan is to create and post a lot more in November, sooo fingers are thoroughly crossed :)

I had an amazing time with Zeid at the Deer park and got to meet some amazing people along the way.

It might have been impulsive to book surf classes that day - but something inside me knew I needed them. The first class went horribly skillwise. The first class also went amazing, I remember swallowing so much water because everything I fell, I would laugh, a lot.

I remembered the 8-year-old Doug with his foam board, spending hours in the water playing with waves. That Doug did not care if he was bad, or if people were looking, or if he looked silly - he was playing, he was having fun. Surf classes gifted that Doug that lives inside me to reminde of how fun it can be very bad at something.

It was in my 3rd class that I could catch my first wave and. what. a. moment. I couldn't believe.

Although the weather is lovely here 90% of the time, it was absolutely terrible yesterday. It was raining a looott, the coldest since I’ve been here and even very windy. However, to celebrate my host family mom’s birthday, we still went out to explore a beautiful place of the island I hadn’t seen yet. We took some umbrellas and had a walk through the city in pouring rain, and somehow (even though I hate rain), I felt so happy! A small reminder not to let external forces determine how I feel too much :)

I was in the tram, heading to the city center when a kind woman asked me to sit next to her. Being in a country where people are quite shy, I was surprised to listen to her telling me about her life, her daughter, her family. She held my hand with so much kindness and softness. It almost felt like she was my Mom. It was truly magical, she made my day, and I am infinitely grateful for her.

When I first got off the train in Scotland I immediately heard a familiar voice, I turned around to look for my friend. It took me a second to realise I was in Scotland and everybody spoke with a funny Scottish accent, not just him.

During the weekend I stayed with him I got a glimpse of his daily life and a cool tour of his Uni. We managed to fit in a small hike despite the crazy winds from the storm that coincided with my visit!

I decided to sit down at the Plaza de Armas in Huaraz and just watch. That's when I met Victor and Mary, his niece. They were really happy to talk with me and me with them. Victor taught me some Quechua, and we shared lots of laughs as I struggled to pronounce correctly. I even learnt my first Quechua swearword! It was a magical moment filled with laughter and love.

I have never been fully wowed by a building before. I always immerse myself in the nitty gritty details of the history and architecture and see the beauty in its life and creation. In this theater, I was taken all the way back. I found myself just sitting, looking at the stained glass ceiling, velvet seats, marble floors, and big spherical performance hall and just wishing I was involved in any kind of performance art. I saw myself in a ballgown, a night on the town. I yearned for the days when I thought I would peruse a career in acting. The magic of this building is in the acoustics. Hearing someone play the piano in that space took me out of my body. I literally sat gaping.

I have fallen in love with taking trains in Sri Lanka. Interestingly, I find myself developing silent connections with strangers on the train after many long hours of coexisting. From a man who was drying the train floor after it had rained so I will be more comfortable sitting on it while watching a beautiful sunset and my hair flowing with the wind to the two little girls who couldn't stop smiling after I offered them my backpack to sit on– thank you for making my day!

It's fulfilling knowing you're still remembered when you leave a place important to you.

ALA wasn't the easiest of times for me; it had its ups and downs, but since grad, I have repeatedly tried distancing myself from it.

A week-ish ago, I received a message with a Google Doc from one of my juniors, whom I was always close to. A draft of an assignment to write a letter to HIS juniors to give them advice, as they are at the very dawn of a two-year journey.

Lo and behold, right there, as the very opening words of the letter he wrote, my words. A quote from a short film I had made about my anxieties before graduation, yet apparently, it touched one more heart than I knew. <3.

I hiked in random peruvian off grid terrain. Slightly stupid: yes. Slighty risky: yes. Slighty fucking awesome: hell yes

I felt so fulfilled, so free and like my heart, soul and mind was glowing. The adrenaline and dangerous terrain in collaboration with stunning views created such a high quality sense of adventure. I took just the right amount of risk, for the experience to become so beautiful.

Hiking alone in vast landscapes brings me so much magic.

Jumping off a cliff is easier if you have someone to hold your hand as you take the leap.

Lima is a grey place. A urbanied and segregated capital.. not at all how I would picture my dream destination. Yet.. some underlying magic transformed my view of this place. The transition into south america felt so easy, so safe and bright thanks to Tristan being by my side.

In Lima we met Franco, an incredibly unique person who inspired us both. We inspired him too. The glow from our symbiosis made Lima a little les grey. My heart glows as i think about how Tristan and Franco contributed to a softer leap off the cliff.

Last weekend, I was able to visit the Hobbiton movie set in Matamata, New Zealand. As a huge Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fan, seeing this in person was a dream come true. Walking by a hobbit hole for the first time made me feel like I entered into one of my favorite novels, helping reignite the kid in me who loved reading, exploring, and dreaming of fantastical worlds. This sense of joy is what makes my trip to Hobbiton my magical moment of the month!

A magical moment I experienced this month was participating in the 4th edition of the CLM as an alumni of the 2nd edition. Even though I couldn’t travel to another country like my Flight School peers, being part of this event and seeing the new cohort grow and learn was truly inspiring. I’ve realized how far I’ve come because it all started there in 2021. And also how meaningful it is to give back to a community that shaped me.

I went to the migration office to check on my passport, frustrated after 8 days of silence since I submitted my documents. To my surprise, I found it had already been processed.

Seeing people dancing the Andian Yunza, I felt so nostalgic. Remembering how, in my childhood, I would always be excited to dance at the Quadrilhas in my city. Every time they would scream, "Hey!" while choreographing, I would immerse myself in the memories of the many times I would listen to "Balance!" and dance in the rhytim of Northeastern Forro.

During my first morning in Sawtell, my roommate woke me up to have a dip in the ocean. Stepping onto the sand for the first time made me feel like this place was truly meant to be my home for the next months.

Feeling welcomed by the world around me. 4500m above sea level, only myself and my travel companions were at this lake. Without access to wifi (or the world at large!) I felt truly present in the space I was existing in—both physically (the earth and mountains had let me inhibit this space) and mentally (I was at peace, without the buzz of the world beyond).

When I arrived in Phuket, the first thing I did was walk to the beach, step in the wet sand and listen to the sound of the waves breaking. As if welcoming me to this new place, the water was warm, the small waves by the shore felt like gentle ripples of joy. The sun was hitting my skin and I could feel my body absorbing its energy, its rays finding me now in another direction. The blue sky by the horizon showed me immense possibilties of becoming. I wanted to stay there forever.

It's been long since I've been to the beach. This first moment in Phuket, before even settling in, was as letting my inner voice guided me to that point of contact with the ocean, and I was so glad it did.

This month, I embraced the freedom to organize my days, especially weekends, the way I wanted. Saturday, I explored the art museum, discovered the Piazza Square, savored traditional Georgian cuisine, and even visited a Russian coffee shop. Sunday, I rented a bike and rode along the entire Batumi Promenade under the sun (25 km), reaching the port and looking at the city from a new perspective. We can’t control everything around us, but we can choose our attitude and decide whether to stay in bed dwelling on life’s injustices or go out, meet people, learn new things and have fun. That choice is always mine.

Nothing crazy, just connecting to my host family mom on a beautiful sunset walk with the dog :)

Last week, september 7th, it was Brazil’s Independence Day. From early morning, the city was filled with music and parades, a big celebration of national pride. What touched me most, the magical moment, was the diversity I saw on the main avenue, students and performers of different genders, races, body types, and backgrounds proudly representing their schools and towns. In the past, parades often highlighted only the “ideal” few, but this time inclusion and representation stood at the capital. Families gathered, elders watched with joy, and the atmosphere radiated unity. For me, it was magical to witness a Brazil that truly mirrored its people.

I spent a week in Oman with my father in the month of August. Not having much to do whatsoever throughout the week, we unintentionally spent almost 4 hours in this beautiful tea shop we had visited. We got to talk about everything from his work and my gap year to favorite movies and politics. It is not often I get the opportunity or space to connect with my dad so it was quite wholesome and I was grateful afterwards :D

The fourth photo was on the morning of the day before and it's definitely my favorite capture from the month :P

activism gives me a sense of worth and importance within myself. crossing km far away, to ground in a city willing to advocate, create bonds and co-create a space to discuss and impact education made my days in ilhéus the greatest ever.

by august 29-31, connection, people and purpose fed my body and soul. my body was fed with shared meals, in the presence of students from all the cities in my state, bahia, all together motivated by the wish to reclaim improvement, dignity and the right to their bodies to exist. my soul was fed by the sense of "i'm not alone," the drums, the shouted songs reverberating everywhere and the human warmth were all things that set this experience apart.

The photo captures me giving my skills and time to serve my community. Though it requires energy and effort, the act of service fills me with fulfilment and renews my motivation to offer the best version of myself.

This photo captures a mini retreat at Lake Victoria, where I chose to begin my Launch Year journey and renew my commitment to community service. Being at the source of the Nile reminded me that great rivers begin in still waters, and that service flows best when we first pause to ground ourselves.