Thank you for letting me into your inbox – I know it's a special place and I promise I won't make a mess.

Although I’ve traveled all over as a journalist, I’m still reluctant to call myself a world traveler. Growing up in New Jersey, my family went to Hershey Park every Summer, and by the time I was in college I flew on an airplane less than 5 times. It wasn’t until I was 27 (I’m 30 now) that I left the country for the first time, which was to go to London for work. Prior to 2016, I never had a passport. That was all I knew. Travel and adventure solely lived on my desktop background, Instagram newsfeed and the books I read.

I started writing back in 2015 (while I was working full time at an advertising agency in New York City), because my grandmother had Alzheimer's and I was so driven to share my experience and her story. I spent two months writing a piece to submit to The Huffington Post, sitting alone in my room, rereading each word aloud until it felt right. The story got published, and from there it quickly turned into a snowball effect of covering lifestyle, travel and entertainment. I’ve written about countless destinations while traveling across the world and without my grandmother, I wouldn’t have become a writer — at least that’s the way I see it. It’s one of the last gifts she gave to me.

I’ve written and continue to write for major publications, which not only shaped me as a journalist, but also helped me define my own voice as I write in the tone of these brands. But here, it’s not about SEO or following trends or staying so politically correct that your entire story unfortunately gets watered down to essentially…nothing.

What will you find here? My newsletter is defined as Honest Travel + Shower Thoughts, which might seem a bit odd together, but to me it covers different sides of our everyday lives. I’m not creating a facade or a highlight reel. I want to share experiences, tips, advice and thoughts in an accessible way for you to plan your own trips (or even contribute if you’ve been somewhere that you still can’t stop thinking about). Shower thoughts are the random little epiphanies that don’t make the big headlines in publications but here, front page news isn’t relevant and I live for the small moments. They’re everything.

So buckle up, enjoy the ride and I’ll talk to you next week.

Be good,

JB

PS. Add me to your address book so I don’t land in your spam folder. If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with your friends, coworkers, frenemies, maybe even an ex?! Ok bye.