What Do You Sea is a travel blog to inspire women to reclaim the adventurous side of their life.
The Meaning Of What Do You Sea
What Do You See? | The first main chunk of the name is an ode to my deep love for photography. There is nothing I enjoy more than composing photos, editing and creating art through a lens that will later inspire others and give them a small look into the way I see the world.
The concept I adore the most about photography is that no two photographers take the same exact photo and edit it in the exact same way. Sure, you can take the same photo at the same destination, but it won’t have the look and feel of that of any other photographer in the world. This means that all of us photography lovers, despite using similar equipment, see the world in vastly different lights, angles, and shadows. How incredible is that?
In essence, ‘what do you see’ is asking what your perspective is. What do you make of the world we live in? What places make your heart beat a little faster? What do you believe about the people and places we encounter? It’s rather rhetorical but has the opportunity to ask many important questions. It all depends on how you see it. Ayo, get it?
See vs. Sea | The final part of the name, ‘sea‘, is a play on words that represents my greatest fear and my greatest sense of peace: the sea. It symbolizes me conquering my fear(s) and surpassing any mental limitations that have held me back from the things that I cherish most in life.
I have only one thing to blame for this rational, yet very irrational, debilitating fear of the ocean. The movie Jaws. It sounds so silly, yet I spent the majority of my childhood in fear of a shark attack. Yes, even at the public swimming pool. It wasn’t until 2015 that I saw the ocean for the first time and only my ankles went in. While this fear did rule my life, as I reached new depths, took interest in new hobbies, and traveled further away from home, the darkness of my fear started to be outshined by my adoration for stillness.
In 2015, I would only enter the ocean to my ankles.
In 2016, I would explore coral reefs only one mile offshore, while totally avoiding the drop-off.
In 2017, I would fully submerge myself and consider taking surfing lessons.
In 2018, I took my first surfing lessons and took on open water while swimming with whale sharks.
Despite the fear and anxiety that swallowed me whole, there was a gentle touch of peace that washed over me as I was in the water. One of my favorite feelings is going from hearing all the sounds of the world, to submerging myself completely and hearing that familiar lull of the sea. There are so many unanswered questions, unexplored depths, and uncertainty when it comes to the vastness and creatures of the ocean, but one thing is for certain, it brings me the most overwhelming sense of joy and peace that no string of words could describe accurately.
“What Is Your Why?”
One of my favorite Ted Talks is “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” by Simon Sinek. He talks about this concept called the ‘Golden Circle” where you have three circles in a dartboard-style format with one circle in the middle and two outer rings. The outermost ring is your ‘what’, the middle ring is your ‘how’ and the innermost circle is your ‘why’. He goes on to say that 100% of people on the planet know what they do, some people know how they do what they do, and very few people know why they do what they do (that doesn’t result in a profit). Why is your purpose, your cause, your belief, and why your business exists.
What is my why? | What Do You Sea exists for dreamers, adventurers, and do-ers. I created this space to build awareness of the importance of pursuing dreams that make your eyes sparkle, taking care of the planet, and exploring all corners of the earth with gratitude and compassion to get a feel for the extraordinary place that we get to call home.
Inspiration For Exploration
The main focus of this blog is to showcase the wonders of this world and to remind you that travel is more than just a ‘one week out of the year’ opportunity; and you don’t have to fork over wads and wads of cash to make it happen. I believe that travel in and of itself is one of the greatest forms of education that we have access to in our lives. There is no better teacher than the experiences of life, and you’ll find out that a lot of the world is not what it seems; it’s so much more.
I don’t write about my own experiences for envy or flattery, but rather to ignite a flame inside my readers for them to realize that traveling is at the tips of their fingertips. There is so much wonder and beauty in this world and it would be a disservice to not try and experience as much as we can while we are here. Someone JUST discovered the oldest cave in the world, located in Vietnam, that is so large that it forms its own clouds and has its own ecosystem. If that blows your mind, think about all the other places waiting to be explored or discovered in our lifetime: go and seek them. Traveling long term or for months on end may not be everyone’s slice of the pie, but I urge you to travel as far and as much as possible.
Protecting Our Earth
While I am still educating myself and making changes to my plastic use and wastefulness, I think it’s not only important but essential for me to spread the message as far as I can to teach people about the current state our planet is in. To the islands of garbage in the Pacific Ocean, microplastics on beaches, and sinking islands in the South Pacific; our home is being trashed and taken for granted, and quite frankly, we need to turn this bus around.
I want to change the way people look at waste and encourage steps to be more mindful of what they consume, where those things go after they have been consumed, and in a result of that, make changes to their lifestyle whether it be switching to a bamboo toothbrush, or making a complete 180 and going zero waste (which is what I am currently working towards). A small step is still a step in the right direction. No one is going to be absolutely perfect but building awareness and spreading a positive message to produce change is one of the biggest things I am advocating for on my site.
Following That Dream
This whole website is a massive, flashing neon sign that reminds me every day that I am on the path to my wildest dreams. Despite everyone telling me I would fail, I am here, watching them unfold before my very eyes. I think we live in a digital era that has opened millions of new doors for success and opportunity that is incomprehensible. You can make six figures playing a video game, literally (I still can’t wrap my head around that one). I do believe a lot of us are discouraged by people who surround us because those people are projecting their own fear of failure onto us doers and dreamers, but that shouldn’t stop us on the path to our ideal life. Sometimes I feel like I am Shia Labeouf in his “Just Do It” motivational speech because that’s how passionate I am about living a life full of adventure and not settling into my comfort zone.
Any dream, no matter how impossible or unattainable it may seem, no matter how many people tell you that you will fail, is possible. You feel it deep within your bones when you find your purpose. You feel this constant urge to pursue them, but fear is often holding us back. I want to remind people to hear those dreams, lose their fears, and stop at nothing in pursuit of them: don’t let your dreams be dreams!
You belong in the life of your dreams, and you don’t belong anywhere else.
Tama J. Kieves
Gratitude fills me each day knowing that I am able to spread positive messages for maximizing the time spent here on Earth, and I can’t thank you all enough (especially if you made it this far), for taking interest in What Do You Sea and supporting my blog.
