About Me
Hi! I’m Love.
I’m an introvert and serial daydreamer who’s never really sure when it’s my turn to laugh. I swing back and forth between being a homebody and having the irresistible urge to travel see the entire world.
I want to help other introverts and socially anxious people pack their suitcases and take on the world.
Growing up, I had the incredible opportunity to travel around the African continent with my parents. The excitement of printing my ticket, eating airplane bread rolls and looking for my little bag with a red bow is something I still carry with me.
The part I didn’t like? Having to meet the neighbours’ kids, and of course, making friends at a new school.
As an only child, my parents were eager for me to find playmates, but every time I met new people, I would end up hiding behind her. Sometimes, when I was crowded by curious people with a lot of questions, I would burst into tears. I felt so overstimulating; like someone was pulling out my hair in individual strands.
In university, I found out I have social anxiety after seeing a therapist provided by the school. Go figure.
But not to worry, once I became comfortable around the other children, we were almost inseparable. And over the years, I’ve made friends from around the world. Some of them introverted and weird, others full of energy and always ready to socialise.
I’m still scared of meeting new people and going to new places, but I’ve gained a strange kind of confidence that allows me to brave my desires anyway, and I want to share that with the world.
In secondary school, when I was 16, we had to write our dreams in the school yearbook seniors. I wrote a rather long paragraph about how I wanted to travel, changing the world with my worlds. Some of my mates teased, of course, but that doesn’t matter.
Since graduating from university, I’ve started to achieve that dream. I’m now a travel writer and journalist, telling stories about African destinations. Not bad huh?
But I’ve realised there’s still room for me to do more. There is still little representation of black African women in travel; especially those of us with 3rd world passports *stares at my annoying green passport*. Furthermore, there’s even less representation of people like me – those with anxiety disorders and other conditions can severely impact the ability to perform the most simple tasks.
Now, I’m not going to focus on anxiety and introversion, I’m just going to share experiences and help people like me figure out how to make the world work for them.
My Mission
- To discover the world as a black African woman.
- To show how to travel comfortably. You can go on an adventure in many ways. Women don’t always have the luxury of couch-surfing with strangers.
- To share the joys of travelling with all the introverts, awkward people, weirdos and everyone else who doesn’t quite “fit in”.
- To share what it’s like to let go of the need to plan every detail of every minute and just let go.
- To share tips and resources on self soothing and managing mental disorders away from home.
- To share this puzzling, unpredictable journey of wanderlust and how it can transform our souls.
- To share tips on managing travel; working from the road, saving money and more.
- To let my parents know I’m still alive while I’m on the road. xD
Extroverts are welcome of course :).
Tafiya, Love
Who I’ve Worked With So Far
