Hey! I find it a little odd to make an introduction of myself to basically…a computer…but here goes.  I’m Shayla, I live in New York City and I’ve been here for almost 4 years.  I’m sure I’ll have an “about me” section on this blog at some point so lets just get into the meat of why I started this blog.

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to see all 50 states.  I think with everything going on in politics and the economy, I’ve been having a lot of thoughts along the lines of “this place is fucking crazy”.  Now, obviously I don’t (always) think that, but I do feel that the only way to really understand some of the things that go on here is to see them.  From what I’ve experienced in my short 25 years of life, people seem to fear what they don’t know.  Some are fine staying in their comfort zones, but I think I owe it to myself to explore, ask questions, and learn.

In terms of my own travels, I’m fortunate enough to have traveled quite a bit growing up.  In terms of domestic travel I’ve mainly just been through East coast, a bit of the West and the South. Ohhhhhh the South. Speaking of fearing what you don’t know. I’m Southern. I own it. I love it. Its in my blood and I embrace it.  In my opinion, the South has gotten the WORST reputation and I want to do my part to bring what I love about the South to your eyes so mayyyybe people (especially my Northern friends) will fear it a bit less.  In fact, my first few posts will be about my travels to the South and why I love it.

Alright, as this is my first post I want to wrap it up with a small explanation of its title.  The name of the blog comes from the childhood song “This Land is Your Land”, which according to Wikipedia is one of the most famous U.S. folk songs. You probably haven’t sung it since you were five, but if you look at the lyrics, it describes a beautiful place that most Americans don’t get to or don’t even want to see.  My goal with this blog is to show you our land.  I’m going to go to small town gems, I’m going to go to big cities, I want to give you the history and hopefully you’ll feel inspired to embark on some American travels of your own.