Breakfast at Emmy's: A21 + Road Trip: Day One

After graduating college, I moved back to CT to really figure out what the next step might be for me. I knew it would be temporary - to spend time with family and save some money... because we all know the life of a poor college student is very real. So I dove into working two jobs and that kept me busy to say the least.

My senior year of college I took a class on human trafficking. It was then that I discovered how prevalent it is in our society and how passionate I am about fighting this atrocity. Even amidst working like crazy, I couldn't let go of the drive that I wanted to do something to make a difference within this issue. On a whim in February, I applied to volunteer for the summer with the A21 Campaign, a global anti-human trafficking organization, at their California office. I went into the whole application and interview process thinking, "if I get this, I know it's the next thing for me to do... but I probably won't."

Turns out, I got it.

Because it is solely volunteer work, I set out to raise $4,000 to support me during the program. Three weeks later, I had every penny and was packing my life into my new car to drive across the country. To say that God provided for more details than I can even list is an understatement. That's how I know this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing at this time in my life. I can't thank everyone enough who has contributed to this experience, by giving monetary support or through prayers.

That being said, my sister Julia and I embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime, would-do-it-again-in-a-heartbeat, never-will-we-forget road trip from CT > CA. First stop? Lynchburg, VA. To see my dear friends Seth and Jaime. Time with them always includes deep life talks and laughing too much. Here's a few pics from day one.