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Name: Anissa Luna Zepeda
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Age: 29
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Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
I rediscovered travel after years of being consumed with school, work and relationships. I had forgotten what it felt like to hold a plane ticket, anxiously and excitedly. I needed a break and a flight to somewhere else seemed like the answer. So, without a single thought, I packed my bags and off I went to Montreal (Canada) . It was one of the most refreshing, exciting and nerve-wracking trips I had ever experienced. It left me wanting more…so began the ‘Bug’. I was itching for a new trip well before my flight landed back in LA. Just about every tab was open to some kind of travel page or ‘Must visit’ article.
Well fast-forward some months and a few trips later and I was ready for something more.
Ireland allowed a working holiday visa, and at the time I didn’t remember but it had been a childhood dream of mine to live with the Irish and play in emerald lands. Off I went, telling my family it was a month-long trip, little did they know I planned on staying. It was a new adventure – new everything.
Well, after 9 months, many nights of partying and ugly grey skies later I felt my time in Ireland was up. On to the next, I felt. The next being Australia. why? Well, it was the only other place that allowed a working holiday visa with the US. I figured, summertime vibes, hot sun and well Aussie accents, oh my! I’m a SoCal girl, I was made for the Sun, only I arrived at the start of winter with rains and uber cold weather, and it goes for 5 months! Exactly the reason I left Dublin, but oh well, the city was amazing and life was beautiful – coffee, street art and cocktail bars – everything a girl needs, well this girl at least. One gets used to the weather I told myself – NOT! I still hate it, but Melbourne has a vibe I like, a slow hustle and the people are amazing. There is always something to do. It’s still a city and like all cities, they are all noisy.
We get so caught up on our lives and our journey we forget about everything else around us. I usually need a reminder of how small we really are compared to the world. So, what I like most about Melbourne is the view. We are constantly walking in between buildings and streets that we forget to look up, not realizing how big and beautiful the city is. The Shrine of Remembrance has one of my favourite views of Melbourne CBD, from start to finish. When the city gets a bit too overwhelming, the botanical gardens are my perfect place to calm down and re-centre myself – away from the noise and the hustle.
I come from a Mexican background, first-generation American, making my families expectation a bit more traditional. Something along the lines of being married by 27 with a child, possibly. I always liked doing things my way, which made me this wild thing to my family, I didn’t like being restricted and I would always much rather do things my way. So, to them, I leapt onto a plane and across the world for something they didn’t quite understand. Trust me it was scary for them and oh my god it was scary for myself. But the excitement always out-weighted the worry. I miss them every day and I do feel like I’m missing a lot, but the world is giant and I am small, figuratively, sort of – I’m missing more by not taking big leaps.
Now, after a little over a year in Melb, a few admin temp jobs, 3 apartments, and a handful of stressful situations, I have a circle of friends I adore, stories I’ll never forget and moments that have by-far shaped me and the life I’m supposed to live. This city has become home, even though I would swap Asian food for Mexican on any given day and will continue to wish for warmer weather every morning…
And well, it helps that I have a very sweet partner who’s become part of my journey… I’m Home.
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