Essence Blog

On May 16th, I boarded a flight to Barranquilla, Colombia, to a place that wasn't on my bucket list, for a trip I almost didn't take, with one of my best friends. It turned out to be exactly what I didn't know I needed.

Here's how it happened.

In late April, my coach asked me what three things I wanted in 2026. At the top of my list: a real vacation. Not a long weekend but a full week away. But between schedules, work, and the general chaos of life, it had stayed stuck in the "someday" c...

As promised, this is part 2 of my Parisian adventure, and I thought I’d share tips on planning and packing from my recent trip to Paris.

Planning

Flights

We booked our flights through Capital One Travel. We paid a little extra to get their flight guarantee. If a flight is significantly delayed or canceled, they will book you on another airline or give you a refund for your base price.  

Layovers

Since there are no direct flights to Paris, we opted for our connecting destination to be in t...

Bonjour  

Last Thursday, I asked you what you most wanted to hear about regarding my trip to Paris. 

There are many stories and lessons from our trip, but I’ll distill them down to 10 short takeaways. 

• A croissant tastes so much better in Paris. I’m still dreaming about the eclairs. 
• Getting too comfortable made my world small. Getting uncomfortable is how we find adventure and new things to fall in love with. 
• You can express your unpleasant emotions and opinions without carrying that ...