If you were to ask me what my two most essential travel items are, I’d tell you, “my passport and my insulin.”

Most people, when they hear about my travels and life story, assume I’ve been traveling forever. But I didn’t start traveling until I was 19, when I told my parents that I was burnt out, taking time off college, and going to Southeast Asia without a plan. 

I had attempted to travel prior–as a high school student, I applied to a handful of summer programs boasting rugged outdoors adventures and road less traveled itineraries. I wanted to see the world, to know the world, to discover my capacities to impact it.

Though, I didn’t see any limitations to doing so, my diabetes was cited time and time again by the travel companies as reason I couldn’t enroll…