even though I had been living with considerable pain for a decade, I tried not to talk about it. I didn't want coworkers, boyfriends, friends or even strangers thinking I was weak, whiny, or otherwise sick. I kept thinking that if only doctors could figure out what I had, they could cure it, and I could move on to enjoying my success and traveling the world. But faced with the new found knowledge that what I had didn't have a cure, and that it could actually get exponentially worse, I made the choice to really buckle down and see as much of the world as possible before my health seriously deteriorated.

My travel adventures began six years ago in Beijing, China. Now how does a chronically ill, broke, introvert with social anxiety and no experience traveling end up alone in Beijing, China? I'm glad you asked. Groupon, silly. For $999, I purchased an 8-day tour package to Beijing with flight, hotel, meals, and excursions included. In all honesty, it wasn't that I had some burning desire to see China in particular. I simply wanted to visit every country in the world, and China seemed like as good a place as any to begin.