The Places I Couldn’t Fully Be
Depression in beautiful places, the pressure to make the most of them, and the memories the scenic snapshots didn’t capture.
An ongoing personal essay series
The Depressed
Solo Traveler.
In the summer of 2023, I packed up my life in the U.S., left it behind in two storage units, and set off to travel and live abroad full-time with my pup.
A note on this series
I’m not sure I had any real expectations beyond making my money stretch a little further and having a few adventures along the way. But in the end, the most lasting lesson was a familiar one: Wherever you go, there you are.
These essays revisit that chapter of my life with the perspective and context I didn’t have at the time. They offer an honest glimpse into what it means to be a solo traveler living with chronic depression, telling the stories that the scenic snapshots never captured.
The stories are personal, unfinished in places, and, much like the person telling them, still taking shape.