Introducing Myself: Hitchhiker / Backpacker / Lawyer / International Man of Mystery and totally @gratefulforitall

Dear STEEMIANS,

Hello! Ciao! Hola!

In case you don’t already know, I’m really excited to join the STEEMIT community!

I’m a backpacking, hitchhiking lawyer. I just got back from an 18 month trip around Europe, the Middle East, and West Africa. I have hitchhiked over 3,000 miles, trainhopped, chased the northern lights, camped in some of the highest mountains in Africa, slept in countless parks and petrol stations, ate so many bizarre foods, and met hundreds of inspiring people, including my soulmate. All thanks to chasing my dream!

Currently, I’m shifting gears and starting to build a life back in the United States and regularly find myself writing down many thoughts about life, travel, and the world. Since I love sharing, the thought of starting a blog has crossed my mind so many times since returning to the United States a few weeks ago. Recently, I found Steemit. So...it seems it was meant to be!

Why Steemit?

I believe in it. Current social media platforms are exploitive. Even if I am not creating content, why should I give away so much privacy as a user? Steemit seems like an amazing alternative. I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the community, learning from others, and sharing my own experiences with people from all over the world. This is only the beginning.

About me:

I was born in New York City--the most diverse (and best) city in the world! I’m a pretty international guy and like to think of myself as very open and compassionate. I believe I owe this to my diverse background.

My father is from Italy and my mother is from Argentina. I grew up speaking Spanish with them, Italian with my grandmother, and English when I was at school. As busy as I was learning languages as a kid, I was even busier teaching English to everyone when I came home at the end of the day :)

As a kid, all of my classmates were from other parts of the world. I had a Chinese friend, an Iraqi one, a Korean, several Cubans. It took a few years of reflecting on my life to realize that this had a profound effect on me. I now realize that this cultivated a deep respect, tolerance and appreciation for other cultures at a very young age.

I enjoy myself the most when I am outside of my element, immersed in a new culture, making a fool out of myself in a new language, or surrounded by expat friends.

I moved down to Florida, graduated from college, took some time off to work in finance, and then went to law school. Those were some of the worst years of my life and I’ll certainly talk about it in my future posts.

After graduating from law school, I bought a backpack and the cheapest international ticket I could find. Paris! My trip evolved many times over the course of the next 18 months and 28 countries.

I crossed into conflict areas, peaceful areas, mega-cities, and barren wastelands. I experienced some of the best and worst that humanity has to offer. I’m a big believer in positive thinking and pulling a lesson from every “mistake.” I love getting out of my comfort zone. So, there are tons of opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them :)

What will I be writing about?

I’ll primarily be posting the following:

• travel stories and pictures
• thoughts about trending issues in the law that interest me, such as blockchain
• perhaps some DIY projects

....you’ll just have to follow me to find out the rest ;)

What do I ask?

I would love to get to know everyone reading this, so please leave a comment! I want to hear from you!

Thank you for reading!