I am the creator of All The Wonders You Seek, a blog that I hope to turn into a space worthy of inspiring others to do those magical things that their hearts long for, such as creating, traveling, and following their dreams.
The path to creating this blog started for me during the best and then the worst period of my life. I was fresh out of college when I went on a trip abroad that changed my life. The way I viewed the world and my place in it was completely altered after a month of seeing, tasting, touching, and hearing things all completely new to me. I adored every second of it, from fish and chips in Dublin to being lost near midnight in London— I was alive!
I came home feeling stronger, wiser, and more in touch with myself and my dreams than ever before. Unfortunately, home at the time was a very small town in a rural area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean— not exactly the ideal place to see and do the things my heart told me I needed to do. I wanted to see the world, learn new languages, try new things, see things I never imagined I could see.
Needless to say, as time passed and I went from being broke and unemployed, to just scraping by and miserably employed, my dreams began to feel more and more distant. As a result, I began to find myself more uninterested in anything at all. Life became nothing more to me than an extensive window-shopping trip for my headstone. I lost the hope that had been so real to me when I was abroad, and I lost sight of the magic.
I think this happens to way too many people. They have dreams and then they put them on hold to “get their life together” and suddenly they are looking back on life and wondering where it went, and asking themselves why they didn’t do those things that set their hearts on fire.
More than anything, I feared this. I didn’t want my heart to just pump blood, I wanted it to be a compass. I didn’t want my dreams to just be fodder for sleep, I wanted them to become memories.
So I gave up the idea of “making it”— the idea of having to work myself to the bone so I could afford the things we are told we must so desperately have, such as a new car, a nice house, and a steady job. Some part of me wanted these things, but more than a long and comfortable life, I wanted an exciting and satisfying one. It’s not a decision many would make, and I’m not even saying it’s a decision that everyone should make, but I needed it, so I did it.
My path to fulfillment involved a plane ticket and a lot of hope, but this blog is not just about my decisions and my path. I aim to make it a space of inspiration. I want to remind people that no matter what those fragile and secret passions are that they hold in their hearts, they’re worthy of your time and your attention.
Dreams are not planted by accident, and our hearts do not cry out for them without reason. I hope to create a space here that is always working towards reminding people of that.
Love, Ariel