What fits inside my 45L Tortuga Outbreaker Travel Backpack!

After a slight bump in the road, I am so glad to be preparing for my Great Ideas Tour. My flight leaves out of Jacksonville August 1, 2019! I will be focusing most of my travels on the Iberian Peninsula kicking off my tour in Lisbon, Portugal. The Great Ideas Tour is meant to be informed, experiential, reflective and transformative. The past six months have given me the opportunity take a careful look at life. I am thankful now more than ever for the opportunity to gain both breadth and depth in each of my experiences and I look forward to sharing with each of you.

August 2-6, 2019 | Lisbon, Portugal

August 6-August 10, 2019 | Porto, Portugal

August 10-12, 2019 | Sevilla, Spain 

August 12-15,2019 | Granada, Spain 

August 15-18, 2019 | Barcelona, Spain 

August 18-28, 2019 | France & Italy 

Since January 8th I have fully embraced the joie de vivre. Once I decided to be filled with the exuberant joy of life, I also decided I would live no other way. I went into this experience deciding it would be the mantra of my journey. Doc Ramsey’s joie de vivre would remind me to be brave in a land unknown and to embrace the novelty of it all. While I thought this would be my motto as I pushed myself to overindulge in European pastries, I have since learned it can also apply to chemotherapy.

Instead of boarding the plan to London on January 7th, I prepared for a CT Guided Needle Biopsy on my right lung. A week later I was diagnosed with Stage One Classical Hodgkins Lymphoma. While this news has postponed my Great Ideas Tour, what I have learned in reading about Doc Ramsey and embracing the joie de vivre, I know it will be no time before I am ready to jet set.I decided to approach this challenge with a similar mindset to the joie de vivre. It is a small bump in the road, but travel is certainly on the horizon. I appreciate all of the continued support and kind words from the Ramsey Family and can not wait to share my journey.

Leaving Tuscaloosa is bittersweet, but I am overjoyed to be starting this new chapter of my life as both an Alabama graduate, and as a member of the Ramsey Family. With graduation behind me, it is time to kick my Great Ideas Tour (GIT) planning into drive! The Great Ideas Tour is a part of the John Fraser Ramsey Premier Award at the University of Alabama. The award honors John Fraser Ramsey, a history professor at the University of Alabama who dedicated his life to the university and the students.  GIT is “the opportunity to travel Europe and discover [your] own sense of possibility and responsibility within a global humanity.” My journey begins January 7, 2019 when I board my flight to London, England. With one backpack, a journal, and camera in tow I hope to continue the legacy of Dr. Ramsey by embracing his joie de vivre!

Please check in for updates, photos, and news of my tour. I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to sharing this journey with all of you!