Wanderlust Wendy

birthday milestone

Birthday Giving: Hair Donation in Saigon

Hair Donation Saigon

Since turning 30, my desire for elaborate birthday celebrations has waned. Instead of large gatherings, I now prefer to retreat and reflect. Recently, there’s been a trend to raise funds for birthdays on Facebook, to support a good cause. This year, in keeping with the “being uncomfortable” theme, I decided …

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Birthday Tradition: Self Care Day!

Shanghai Lost Bakery

Several years ago, someone told me that their company gives every employee a day off on their birthday. I found that to be a brilliant idea. Since my company doesn’t have this policy, I decided to implemented for myself. For the past few years, I’ve taken at least one day off for my birthday. If it falls on a weekend, as it does this year, then I take a day to make it a long weekend! This is #selfcare in all its beauty, and I encourage you to adopt it… 

28 Gratitude

It is with immense gratitude that I welcome another new year of my life. Within merely 36 hours, I traveled 8,237 miles from St. Louis to Shanghai, caught up with friends who have been in my life for over a decade, as well as celebrated this milestone with new friends whom I’ve met over these past two years. In between, flurries of message came in from all corners of the world. I marvel at the connections that I have made, literally across the globe.
At times, the life of a wanderlust can feel awfully lonely, but today, my heart is full and I feel love coming from all corners of this magnificent world. How wonderful it is to travel between my different worlds, and be reminded just how wonderful the human connection is. I don’t know how else to express how thankful I am to the universe, so, in honor of my 28th birthday, I share the 28 things that I am thankful for today, in no particular order:

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