I'm a freelance graphic designer who specializes in branding and illustration. I was born on the beautiful island of Oahu and grew up around cultures that have a reverence for nature (i.e Native Hawaiian and Japanese). I spent my childhood by the sea and in the mountains under the mango tree in my grandma's backyard. My family and I moved to the continental US when I was seven. All the suburban houses looked the same and I missed the warmth of the islands (and still do).

Not only do I want to connect with nature again like I did in my childhood, but also experience what I couldn't experience on an island.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

People always tell me that I should go work for a company or a design agency...but I don't want to do that. My wanderlust is far too strong for that lifestyle and I don't want to feel trapped and gradually lose my passion for graphic design. And so, I want to travel around while earning just enough money for gas and the bare necessities. While I could live solo in a car, it would be nice to make friends, enjoy human companionship, and experience local places through couchsurfing as well.

Interests

- Food (Not just experiencing it, but the history and culture too. If there was one thing I loved more than design, it would be food.)
- English (I used to be an English major and taught English to students in non-English speaking countries for three years. It was a lot of fun!)
- Photography (especially macro photography!)
- Music production (I like to sample noises from nature and mix them with toy instruments)
- Graphic design (I love package design)
- Architecture (I cant stand cookie-cutter houses)
- Interior design (I've got a knack for it!)
- Sociology (I took a lot of courses on human sexuality, so that's always a fun topic to talk about)
- Pomology (the study of fruits!)

• culture
• architecture
• design
• interior design
• graphic design
• photography
• illustrations
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• music
• freelancing
• history
• sociology
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

—Movies—
- Tekkonkinkreet
- The Hedgehog
- The Fruit Hunters
- Life in a Day

—Books—
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog
- Into the Wild
- The Wild Truth
- Tuesdays with Morrie
- Treasure Island

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

There was this one time a couple friends and I went to the backroads of Argyle, TX in the middle of the night. It was cold and I hadn't brought a jacket, so I laid down on the still warm hood of the car. My friend laid down next to me and we gazed past the layers of seemingly endless stars as they hung above us and into the universe. We had never seen the stars that way before, as more than just a bunch of pretty things against the night sky. When we saw them as lights HANGING above us, that's when we experienced something totally different from our initial appreciation of space.

Teach, Learn, Share

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

"I did not want to talk about the same things over and over and how people wanted to get out but they couldn't. Truth is, they could, but didnt want to take the plunge and they were also afraid to start something new."

"Easy is boring."

"Freedom without purpose feels a whole lot like boredom."

"If I wanna do something that's never been done, i'd better expect a path that's never been paved."

What I Can Share with Hosts

- It genuinely makes me happy to help people out, so i'd be more than happy to help hosts out with anything from manual labor to household chores. Makes me feel nice inside.
- I'm a good cook and love to cook for people! It's a lot of fun to experiment around!
- I've been told that I always have a lot of interesting topics to talk about and provide great conversation about them.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Hong Kong, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States