2. I’m surprised they didn’t give you a medal for being a superfan! Once you got home from the Olympics, how did you do what everyone dreams of: quitting their job and traveling the world?

2016 was my “year of yes”, so anytime someone invited me on a trip, I would say yes. This made for a fun and exciting year of exploring various locations in the US. It just fueled my hunger for exploring the world even more. I had no clue that I would be able to get sponsored while at the Olympics. Plus getting coverage from the Wall Street Journal, the Kidd Kraddick Morning and Good Morning America gave me exposure like I never could have dreamt of. When I returned home from the Olympics, I received an email from InspireMore. They wanted to discuss me hosting a Facebook Live series for their page. I knew that this was my moment to see the world, I had to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve always wanted to host a travel style show, so this was my chance.

3. Tell us about your partnership with InspireMore. How’d that come about?

I really enjoyed working with InspireMore during my travels. Originally, we agreed that I would host the series for 4 to 6 months. My plan was to travel to Asia and South America, and then return back home. I was still calling it a trip around the world because I was literally flying around the world. One night I was talking to my dad about my plans and he said that I couldn’t call it a trip around the world because I was skipping a few continents. The next day, I decided that I would visit every continent except for Antarctica, and my Trip would be at least a year long. I called InspireMore, and they were all in with this idea! The rest is history.

4. Do you think you’ll continue traveling full-time or settle down somewhere?

I finished my 412 day 57 country journey on Jan 25 of this year. I had only seen my parents twice since I had left, so I spent a month back home catching up with family and friends. After just a few days back home, I was itching to explore some more. Only my initial journey, I skipped two part of the world: Antarctica and Central America. The only wonder of the world I missed was Chichén Itzá, so it made my decision to travel more very easy. I took off again on Feb 28 to backpack through Mexico and Central America for a couple months with two Aussies I met in Africa! So for now, I’ll continue to travel. I’ll eventually settle down somewhere to raise a family, but I will never lose my love for traveling.