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What Do You Sea

  • home
  • About
    • Meet Aaren
      • My Bucket List
    • About What Do You Sea
    • Work With Me
    • FAQ’s
  • Blog
  • DESTINATIONS
    • Asia
      • Japan
      • Indonesia
      • The Philippines
    • Europe
      • Iceland
    • United Kingdom
      • Scotland
    • United States
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing Guides
    • Sustainability
    • Travel Safety Tips
    • Travel Insurance Guide
    • Gift Guides
  • RESOURCES
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  • Asia

    Best Time To Visit Okinawa: When To Go + When To Avoid

    14/01/202029/11/2023

    Known as the Hawai’i of Japan, for an island this beautiful, you want to make sure you know the best time to visit Okinawa before you plan and book your trip. Lucky for you, I have researched all the information for you and laid it out in this simple guide that will give you the

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  • Japan

    6 Reasons Why Okinawa Needs To Go On Your Travel Bucket List

    08/10/201819/01/2022

    Prior to my travel-focused lifestyle, I used to think that people planned their trips according to the numerical order of their bucket lists, but after traveling for around two years now, I realized the road to completing your bucket list is an extremely winding road with multiple detours and nooks to get lost in. There

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  • East Asia

    Ultimate Okinawa Packing List: What To Wear In Okinawa, Japan

    24/09/201803/05/2022

    Are you planning a visit to Okinawa this spring or summer? Need a packing list? You’ve come to the right place! I have visited Okinawa twice now in both the spring and summer months and each time posed very different items that I needed to pack for my trip. Since Okinawa is a small island,

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  • East Asia

    Hiking Mt. Katsuudake: Okinawa’s Panoramic View

    10/09/201824/11/2021

      Okinawa has many beautiful sites to see, but the one that surprised me the most was the beautiful hikes dotted all along the northern points of the island. If there is one thing to be certain, Okinawa really has it all: charming Japanese culture, beach life, traditional Japanese cuisine, historical sites, diving sites, surfing,

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  • Howdy! My name is Aaren, but I’m also informally known as an oat milk latte loving, mountain climbing, adventure seeker. My travels have no bounds, whether you’re searching for the best coffee shops in a new city, or looking for your next hiking adventure, my little corner of the internet has you covered. New here? Click below to read more about my story!

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    aarenprody

    ໒ Discovering myself through conscious and courageous exploration.
    ⟟ Currently: on a pit stop exploring #Dallas
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    AAREN 🌏 Travel Blogger
    one of my favorite playgrounds from this year. the one of my favorite playgrounds from this year. the desert is one special place
    Got a little teary-eyed after finishing the Highli Got a little teary-eyed after finishing the Highline Trail and this was the view on the shuttle ride back to the car 🥹 #glaciernationalpark #travelmontana #solofemaletraveler #hikingtrip #roadtrips
    do you remember being excited for recess as a kid? do you remember being excited for recess as a kid? getting to lineup in neat lines (I always made sure my feet fit snug in the square tiles), and being forced to contain your enthusiasm into a soccer mom power walk on your way down to the playground. 

I never liked kickball. I couldn’t hit the ball the furthest, wasn’t the fastest, and my catching skills were unreliable. But I still persisted because I still had fun cheering on everyone else. 

But as I’ve gotten older and started to pursue my dreams of being a travel blogger or (*shudders* content creator), I can’t help but feel like I am that young girl again waiting in the long line of players, just to be one of the last ones chosen. 

I always say that social media is one of the greatest blessings. If it weren’t for it, we would have a whole lot less freedom and connection in our lives (there is a ton of bad too but let’s stay on track here) but after waiting on the sidelines, cheering everyone else on for what feels like forever, it’s hard for me to want to line up anymore to play the game. because day after day, its eyes wander over me and choose someone else. and I say, “that’s okay, I’ll try again tomorrow”

And whenever I am feeling this way, I try to refocus on what I have accomplished instead of what I haven’t. Having posts rank on page 1 of Google, being accepted into another ad network, being reached out to for freelance, people I look up to validate my work. And still, after all these years, I always find myself saying that I’m grateful for getting what I needed, and not what I wanted. 

If you’re next to me in the kick ball line, no matter what team you hope chooses you, just think of that little girl in grade 4 and think about how she would feel looking at everything you’ve worked so hard for. I think she would be inspired by you. Keep pushing forward.

📸 by @paigemarqz - photoshop/edit by me
    lately I have been feeling like I’m sitting in t lately I have been feeling like I’m sitting in the passenger seat of my life. not the kind where your feet are up, the windows are down and you’re yelling song lyrics, but the kind where you’re checking the map once again because you think you’ve made a wrong turn, or missed a particular stop along the way.

i struggle a lot with making decisions, and being confident in those decision. coming from an empathetic heart and an understanding nature, I constantly weigh questions and outcomes over and over and over again in my mind. sometimes I don’t come to any conclusions and sometimes my heart is racing and my mind is swirling. 

but here, in one of the most unforgiving places in the world, nature, the worry melts away and for some time I’m not so uncertain. things make sense. situations are clear. my feet are on the dashboard. the windows are down. I feel the base of the music in my heart, grinning ear to ear. 

📍Paintbrush Divide, Grand Teton National Park
    The end of the year always sends me into period of The end of the year always sends me into period of reflection as another chapter of my life comes to a close.

These past two years, in particular, never turned out the way I envisioned or what I thought they would be, and I think that rings true for a lot of us.

I left my home with the intention of being gone for a year, only to get into an accident 3 weeks into my trip and end up somewhere else. But that somewhere else, Texas, has turned into a very special place for me. One that I never thought I would come around to because I spent years hating where I was. Regardless of my own situation, I think a lot of us have that same way of thinking, whether you’re still in your hometown or a place you didn’t think you would end up, you’ve probably thought at some point or another that “if I were just in ____” or “if I packed my bags and moved to ______” then all my problems would be solved. 

After moving to Texas, I realized that life has a very interesting way of putting you exactly where you’re supposed to be, and for a long time I didn’t understand it. Looking back on it, even my travel plans reflected that. I went as far away as I could in search for something that I always had locked away inside of myself somewhere. It was on this trip to Big Bend that I thought “I can’t believe I have always traveled so far to see beautiful things when this is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been and it’s the shortest distance away.” 

Sometimes the things you desire most in your life, whether it be physical, emotional, etc., aren’t as far out of reach as you think they are. 

(I don’t normally do this but swipe to see the before photo)
    wherever you are in life. whatever you’re doing. wherever you are in life. whatever you’re doing. wherever you might be headed, just know it’s not too late to change your mind. 

a lot of my life has been guided, or should I say restricted, by me stressing the permanence of my choices. by believing that if I choose to do this one thing then that’s the way my life is going to be and I can’t deviate from it. it’s kept me from doing a lot and even kept me stagnant in some areas of my life. whether it’s a new job, new place to call home, new haircut, beliefs, or even a lifestyle, it is all fluid and constantly changing, just like us. just because you align with one thing doesn’t mean you cannot pursue another, and just because you woke up one day halfway down a road, doesn’t mean it’s too late to turn around and go someplace else. 

a lot of people think that the whole “you’re one choice away from a completely different life” is some form of satire, but with a little elbow grease and a lot of bravery, you could be doing whatever you want in life. ask for it. work for it. and next thing you know, you’re keeping that promise you made to your younger self. it’s so important to go after the things in life that make it so special for you, whatever that may be. 

📍 Navajo Land
    *checks watch* man y’all are STILL sleeping on *checks watch* 

man y’all are STILL sleeping on Wyoming?
    never forget that your life is full of synchronici never forget that your life is full of synchronicities and miracles ✨ in every person you meet and all the places you go. everyone in your life is a reflection of you. im grateful for all the people i have met in the most random of places that have laid stones in front of me, guiding me on my path. those that have trusted me, loved me, supported me, and made me feel at home in the strangest of places. thank you. if you haven’t heard it today:

- you’re doing great. 
- you are exactly where you need to be.
- it’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing (I don’t either).
- trust in the timing of your life.
- you are safe and loved.

📍 photo from one of my favorite hikes in @archesnps by @leadawnhart edited by moi.

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