My name is Andrea but everybody calls me Drea. I am a travel addict with a passion for dressage and a great enthusiasm for learning and adventure.
Equestrian sports, but more specifically, the art of dressage, is my life. There is no better feeling than a good ride with a partner and friend that you work so diligently with on creating an incredible bond and mutual understanding. Horses are the most beautiful, smart and majestic creatures and I am very fortunate to have had the chance to befriend so many.
These two pictures are of my very best friend and partner, Yahtzee. He is my thoroughbred gelding and has been my friend since I was 12 years old. I recently donated him to a therapeutic riding center as I had to leave for college a few years ago and he has been happy to spend his time helping children smile.
I am also very proud to say that I am part of an organization that has helped me grow as a person since I first stepped foot into the chapter house. I am an Alpha Chi Omega, part of a sorority of exceptional women that has been around since 1885. Being a part of this incredible group has changed my life in ways I could not explain in words. My sisters are my support system, my best friends, my family. I love being a part of the Delta Chi chapter of Alpha Chi Omega and being able to change the view of what a sorority really is, a big family.
My second love in the world is the love for travel. Experiencing different cultures, tasting new foods, climbing to the tops of mountains and admiring castles as old as time...these are examples of my perfect travel experiences. To step into new territory, and try to walk in the shoes of its people, opens the mind to so much more than one would think. I am an avid reader and think books are wonderful, but there is no story in words that can describe the feeling of being in that place and seeing all that the world has to offer with your own eyes.
I encourage everybody I know to travel as often as possible, to create their own stories from their own adventures. I understand myself more and more as I attempt to understand others. I explore the world while also exploring what is inside of me. Every place, every person, every brick wall and cobblestone road has a story to tell. When you stop to listen, you begin to create your own story.
These are a collection of my stories, those I have encountered on my way. I know I have so many more to come, as my story has just begun. My friends laugh and ask if I ever stop planning my next trip. I just answer by saying I cannot imagine not having a trip to look forward to!
I hope my stories inspire you to do the same and to go find yourself over and over again with the help of this gorgeous planet that we call home. Mitakuye Oyasin is a phrase I learned while doing work and studying the native ways of the Lakota people of Pineridge Reservation in South Dakota. Translated it means all my relations, everything is related. Us to each other, us to nature, everything is related. This phrase is very important to me which is why I share it with you. If we treat each other and the other creatures of Earth as brothers and sisters, life will be much more peaceful and joyful. This is something I stand for and try to live by every day and with every person I meet.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover!" -Mark Twain
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