My biggest regret after traveling the world...

I always knew that my dreams were bigger than my small hometown in California. It's not that I didn't love where I grew up in Chico, a small town located right in the Northern California valley but there was just so many places to see, people to meet and things that I wanted to do in the world.

I am only 26 years old but have already traveled all across the globe and built a successful business doing what I love. To this day, I vividly remember the moment that I decided my life was going to be different than what anyone else in my small hometown had planned for me.

I was 16 years old in my teal themed bedroom, sitting on my favorite polka dot bedspread from target and was just staring up at the huge world map I had on the wall. I was experiencing the feeling that I now know to be what the Germans call 'fernweh' which translates to 'far sickness' and is related to the concept of wanderlust. You can just think of it as being the opposite of homesick.

All of my friends were busy that day thinking about college admissions, prepping for the SATs and about 'realistic' life goals but here I was dreaming about how I was going to travel the world someday. The only problem was that like most teenagers, I had no money, no plan and no real way of leaving my hometown yet. Then I remembered a quote someone once shared with me that went something like..

"Excuses are for people who don't want it badly enough."

It was in that very moment that I knew if I wanted to follow my dreams of seeing the world then my dreams needed to be bigger than all of my excuses. I was going to find a way to travel and wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop me. So I did just that. I switched from a public high school to independent study so that I could take extra classes and graduate a year early. I even got a job in the evenings working as a waitress at an Italian restaurant to save up enough money to buy my first plane ticket. Just a little over a year later and I was already hugging my dad goodbye at the Sacramento international airport. All I had was my carry on bag, my passport and the plan of spending six weeks solo traveling throughout Europe.

The crazy thing is, I never got back on my return flight. I called my parents the day before I was supposed to leave and let them know that I was staying in Europe. My plan of spending a few weeks in one continent turned into a spontaneous journey and spent the next four years traveling all around the world.

To be honest, it is exhausting moving to a new country and integrating into a new culture every few months. So I decided after a few years of living that lifestyle that I wanted to go back to the U.S for a little while to reconnect with my family and home country. So I booked a flight to visit my small hometown of Chico in the beautiful sunny valley of Northern California. I had no idea that this trip was going to be the start of another chapter in my life story.

While going through my old boxes in my parents garage I found my old jewelry making tools and started creating again. I instantly became obsessed with handcrafting pieces and over the next few years poured my heart and soul into building my brand Marie Auvi.

From the outside looking in you'd think that I had it all, the dream job, the guy and the lifestyle that everyone would kill for but if I'm being 100% honest, something deep down had always felt like it was missing. Then I realized something this year while having a conversation with my boyfriend about our lives and future plans. I have had a secret dream ever since the day I left on that plane as a 16 year old girl. I just didn't have enough courage or confidence to pursue it, until now. Something I learned in my 20's is that

If you don't pursue your dreams they will become your regrets. The only way to get rid of a regret is by taking action and doing something about it. Just remember... it doesn't matter who you are, where in the world you are or how old you are, it is never too late to follow your dreams.

This May it will mark 9 years since I left the U.S for the first time. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my travel anniversary then to step outside of my comfort zone once again by pursuing a dream that I've kept hidden from myself and the world for far too long... to start a blog.

You don't even have to say it, I know it's a total cliché. There are already over 600 million blogs online but there were also hundreds of thousands of jewelry businesses out there when I started mine but that didn't matter to me because there is nothing better than pursuing your passions and falling in love with the process of creating something. This blog is a platform for me to share my journey and connect with all of you and I don't want to waste another 10 years of my life wishing that I would have had the courage to start sooner.

“For what it's worth...It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over again.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald

This spring and summer season we are spending 6 weeks in Costa Rica, 2 months in Europe and a month in Japan. We will be in Phoenix and Northern California for a few weeks in between each trip. I am so excited to share this next chapter with you and all of the inspiration, crazy stories and life lessons that are learned. So without further ado... Welcome to the Marie Auvi blog.

A place where we will explore the world and ask all of the questions. The where, the how and the why. This is a place where we will talk about travel, nature, self development, play, love, laughter, joy and so much more.

Thank you for taking the time to be here, I am beyond grateful for you. I truly believe there is a reason why the world has connected us even if we don't quite know what that is yet. I can't wait to go on this adventure called life together xx -Emily Marie