ABOUT ME

When I asked my friend Laura to describe me, she said, "Lily is kind and polite and she is fun to run around town with and likes adventuring and exploring." I like how simple that is. It's so hard to describe who I am in a few sentences...

When describing myself, I would say that I love people. I'm naturally drawn to meeting people and hearing their stories. I consider myself a humanist and generally believe that "evil people" do not exist. That's what I love about couchsurfing, the opportunity to have an authentic experience in a place I've never been, to be in the life of someone I've never met, to have a family of "strangers" around the world.

Interests

I love to create. Currently, I've been writing a lot (hopefully, forming my notes into a book about my travels over the last few years). When I start sitting still again, I'm excited to continue learning the guitar, mastering sewing, and starting to learn hula hooping.

I love being outside, so hiking, swimming, etc. Whenever I don't know what to do with myself, I go for a walk. I love walking and exploring.

• culture
• writing
• books
• running
• walking
• traveling
• socializing
• guitar
• hiking
• swimming

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been traveling with a non-profit called Pick Up America over the past two years. We're the first people to ever walk across America picking up litter, and we're doing it to raise awareness about our disposable culture and to encourage a transition toward zero waste. We've traveled over 3,000 miles and removed nearly 100 tons of litter from the ground.

It's hard to pick two or three moments to encapsulate it, but living this lifestyle for as long as I have is definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Living on the road is transformative. I've lived in every little town (including BLM land on the side of the road) and big city between Cincinnati and San Francisco. I've lived in the homes of so many different people, being part of their lives for a few days. I've picked up litter through so many diverse ecosystems. I've seen so many beautiful places along the way.