Bonjour! I’m Melissa. I first traveled abroad with my mom when I was 10 years old and kept a journal of my travels that was then published by International Gymnast Magazine. From there, my love for travel—and my desire to document it for posterity—began. I believe the magic happens in the moments, and those moments are far more valuable than things. I was fortunate to travel all over the United States and a bit overseas while I was growing up as a competitive gymnast, and continued my travels afterwards as I spent my first month out of high school in Paris pursuing a photography study abroad. During my college years, I also studied in Urbino, Italy; traveled between St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia and led two photography/design teams to India.
I believe the magic happens in the moments, and those moments are far more valuable than things.
Following a severe car accident in 2002, I progressively developed the chronic illnesses fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Reduced to merely surviving, I searched and battled back for answers and recovery. In June, 2014, after making significant progress to that end, I took a massive restorative step and moved to Paris—the city I had fallen in love with 14 years prior. Since arriving in France, I have been able to spend time traveling around this most amazing country, as well as Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland, South Korea (including an incredible visit to the border and a few minutes officially in North Korea) and perhaps my favorite of all: Iceland.
Here, as I rebuild my life, I am doing everything I can to live as meaningfully and purposefully as possible. For me, that means being true to myself, seizing opportunities to again be “alive” and thriving in the process. My health is always a top priority the way I live and travel is always in efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Life as an immigrant not always easy, the road is not always crystal clear and the path is never a straight line, but day by day I journey. Follow along as I journey through life, through Paris and through as much of the world as I can see.