I used to watch Pride and Prejudice every week.
That might seem very quirky and bordering on insane, but I went through a passionate Austen era.

I lived and breathed literature for most of my life, so Pride and Prejudice was like a worn blanket that I would get out and wrap around myself, a reward after a week of math, and science, and recess.

As I grew older, I realized that this was not everyone's reality, and so I went to business school.

I didn't really enjoy it, but I was really good at it. I loved winning, and I loved the rush of putting together a business plan at three in the morning with other caffeinated college students. But that didn't last for long. Soon, I grew weary and returned to my books, and to writing- my first love.

I decided that dreams were meant to be followed, and failure is inventible at some point, so why not chase them anyway?

The arts are like cake.
They may not be necessary, you might not need them to survive in a third world country. And yet, if you've never had cake, I desperately want you to experience it.

Literature and culture deepen your understanding, your grasp of humanity and purpose, of why people in every culture are drawn to community and to LOVE.

For me, humanities is a love affair, but it's also essential. To be a writer is to analyze people; cultures are made up of people, after all. Even more, as a travel writer my entire life will most likely be taken up with studying and typing up pages about people and places. Essentially, that's what humanities is: people and places.

I think when it comes to the "frivolous" things of life, like art and culture, God said "let them eat cake."

Or was that someone else?