All posts tagged: think piece

How To Have #Jetsetterproblems

Published by Khadijat Oseni

I often get asked the question, “How do you get to travel so much?” It’s inevitable but also one I have a hard time responding to. Why? Because I’ve made a conscious decision to see the world and committed to going. I do not come from a place of privilege where I hit a magic button and, “Voila!” I’m transported into the sky…a misperception many assume based on my experiences. I’m a middle class girl from Brooklyn who had a dream early on in life to see the world and wanted to make this dream a reality. I took this fiery passion and found ways to manifest this dream through various mediums. One way was working hard in school and getting a scholarship that would place me at a university (NYU – Go Violets!) that supported experiential learning and global exchange via study abroad options. Another way was making sure that I remained open to connecting with people from all different walks of life. In maintaining these relationships and being open, I have had the …

Life As Travel

Published by Khadijat Oseni

What is Life? Is it living infinity free of expectations? Or is it roll in, roll out of bed, day in and day out, a repetition split between reluctant deadlines and enthusiastic snooze buttons with the occasional party mixed in to remind you of your existence? If this certainty were guaranteed, would you opt to have a case of the mundane everyday? Or would you gamble against the odds and dare to be different? It’s easy to ask the questions, but more difficult to provide answers, because we all desire a degree of control in some form or another. What would life be if we couldn’t create the memories we desired to collect and retell at a later time to display our glory? The problem is that with all this desire for control, there is little room left for interpretation in our stories, because for the sake of comfort, we’re willing to give up our maps to the guides of family, friends, lovers, school, and career to determine where we end up. How about picking …

More Than A Single Story…

Published by Khadijat Oseni

“Stories matter, many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and malign. But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people but can also repair that broken dignity.” ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story I had the honor of meeting a lovely little girl named Fatima and her beautiful family during my travels through the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Their grace and generosity despite whatever life circumstances they faced was the very first time I truly understood the danger of a single story as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie brilliantly discussed in her moving TED Talk. I began to see the world and the value of travel differently after this encounter and am forever blessed for it. I find it very important to experience and portray the balanced dynamics of life – both luxury and struggle; joy and pain; laughter and depth; love and loss and any other manifestations of emotion one can think of. As a result, I try my …

O’ Captain, My Captain: Life & Travel Lessons from Dead Poets Society

Published by Khadijat Oseni

As a millennial obsessed with pop culture and digging up old movies from a young age, I stumbled upon my first entry into the wanderlust worlds of Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau and Robert Frost via sneaking a view of Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society past my bedtime. Far too young to fully understand the depth of the various themes outlined throughout the film until I later encountered the original texts, I nonetheless was emotionally inspired by the overarching message of living life to the fullest without seeking the permission of others to explore self-expression through the arts. It was then that I fell in love with one of my favorite movie characters of all-time, Professor John Keating portrayed by the genius Robin Williams. With Williams’ untimely passing on Monday, it is here that I share five pre-mature life lessons I learned and still carry along my journeys from dear O’ Captain, my Captain John Keating, through quotes and travel images, in honor of one of my favorite actors, comedians, and creative inspirations of all-time. Rest in peace Robin Williams, you will …