About Me

Like many millennials, my story begins with mental health struggles. I grew up an anxious kid, constantly caught between excitement and dread. I loved having friends over — but often ended up cleaning behind them, needing everything just so. Looking back, I definitely had some control issues (lol).

As a teenager, I developed a hair-pulling disorder called Trichotillomania. For years, I didn’t have eyebrows — but that’s where art found me. Drawing and painting became my saving grace. When my hands were busy creating, they weren’t pulling. By my senior year of high school, almost half my classes were art classes, and my bedroom walls were covered in paintings.
I loved it.
Until “the real world” told me I had to choose something practical.

I ended up taking a “safe” job at a museum — and promptly got fired. Broke, lost, and unsure what came next, I stumbled across a listing to teach English in China. I applied on a whim, got hired after a Skype interview, and six months later, found myself landing in Beijing thinking, "What did I just do?"
Spoiler: it turned out to be the best decision of my life.

Living abroad taught me confidence, resilience, and wonder. I explored new cities, visited five countries, and tasted everything from worms to chicken feet (would not recommend, but great stories!). In China, I got to fully be myself for the first time.

Eventually, it was my dog Mosby — and Covid — that brought me back home to Ohio. In 2020, I turned 25, ended a five-year relationship, and moved into my own place for the first time.
Mosby kept me going.
Daily walks with him helped me heal, reconnect with nature, and remember why I'm here:
To create.
To explore.
To love deeply — especially dogs.

Travelling, Tails, Art is my way of sharing that journey.
I hope my stories inspire you, my art makes you feel seen, and that sometimes, when life feels overwhelming, you remember — pet a dog, live in the moment, and stay grateful.