"The dreamers are the saviors of the world... Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish. Those who cherish a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in their hearts, will one day realize it. 

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind... if you remain true to them, your world will at last be built. 

The thoughtless, the ignorant, the lazy... talk of luck, of fortune.. Seeing someone grow rich, they say, "How lucky they are!" They do not see the trials and failures and struggles that these men and women have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; they have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made... the faith they have exercised.. that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable and realize the vision of their heart.

The vision you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, and this you will become."   - As You Think by James Allen 

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My first editor has finished my book. 

If there was ever a quote to sum up the deep need within me to write, this would be it. Ray Bradbury has many of them that deeply reflect my own love affair with words, but this one is particularly special. It encompasses the passion, the madness, and the deep need that pulls on me day after day, year after year... whether I listen or not.

“If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories — science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”     - Ray Bradbury

When first informing people that I was moving to New Zealand, most often the first question I'd get (after the shocking revelation that I was going alone *gasp!) was, "Why New Zealand?" 

I didn't really have too many answers as I had never been to the country before, but most often I would reply with something along the lines that I had heard it was beautiful, I was accepted for a Working Holiday Visa and... well.. why not? 

Now that I've been living here and have traveled the country extensively, however, I feel I can truly and adequately answer this question (and give you my photos to prove it!). If you are pondering, "Why New Zealand?", you have come to the right place. Read on my friends, read on.

So, why would you go to New Zealand? I'll give you 22 reasons...

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since my last post, and I thank you for your patience. Like I've previously explained, I wanted to go under the radar for a bit and I'm grateful I did. I had spent the last couple years blogging through different sites, along with writing and editing a book, so I'm sure you understand; I just wanted to experience life for a while without telling anyone.  ​