Hi, I’m Amanda! I’m a 20-something-year-old who loves history museums, beaches, paddle-boarding, hiking, yoga, farmers’ markets, romance novels (find me on Goodreads!), and cooking competition shows. I am also a recent college graduate based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve spent the past four years living in St. Louis, thinking, reading, and writing a lot about history, education, and American culture. I am currently working in social impact consulting, and my goal is to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in hopes of becoming a professor. As I enter this next chapter of my life, I’ve decided to repurpose my blog to use it for all my musings and reflections – mostly on travel, social justice, mental health, academia, and my postgrad experience.
Young & Wanderlust started as a travel blog, but I like to think it has become my visual diary.
In eighth grade, my English teacher asked us to create blogs about a topic we were passionate about. When the school year ended, I decided to transfer my first blog to a Weebly site so that it wouldn’t get deleted. With the extra time I had at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to start working more seriously on my Instagram and blog. On a bit of a whim, I purchased a domain and web-hosting service, started learning how to use WordPress, and ended up here!
I am definitely not a professional blogger or world traveler, but traveling has been one of my favorite things to do for as long as I can remember, and I was fortunate to begin traveling at a young age because my parents are from opposite sides of the world. As someone with severe food allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts, most tree nuts, fish, and shellfish, traveling also challenges me and pushes me outside my comfort zone. I’m a planner (and foodie!) at heart, and I love researching new places and thinking about how I can safely navigate them with my dietary restrictions. As a Spokin Ambassador and member of the Food Allergy Teen Advisory Group, I aim to raise awareness of food allergies and empower others who share this experience. In addition to my food allergies, I’ve been vegan since June 2020.
As my life changes, I’m sure this website will, too! Thanks for letting me share this with you 😊
