About
My name is Natalie. Growing up my family moved around a lot. I actually loved it. I was born in Canada and after a few years my family moved to the US. I lived in Canada (Toronto), Missouri (St. Louis), Georgia (Alpharetta and Athens), Texas (San Antonio and Austin), and California (Malibu and Rancho Cucamonga). So I got a little east coast, west coast, midwest, and south in me. It makes for a very neutral accent with a hint of Canadian that pops out every once in a while. I learned to appreciate all the places I lived in for different reasons. And since then, I still can't sit still. I'm a novelty seeker that craves new perspectives through adventure.
In addition to being a forever wanderlust, I am a huge science nerd. Maybe it comes with the territory. When it comes down to it, I love to understand the world in as many ways as I can. Whether it is exploring new cultures abroad, getting out in mother nature and enjoying the vast variety of natural settings this world contains, or investigating health issues by understanding the fascinating under-workings of the human body. It is all about understanding the mysteries the world has to discover.
That is what this blog is about, sharing my travel stories, giving glimpses into other cultures around the world, sharing my travel advice to those who want to get out and travel themselves, sharing the amazing new knowledge that is being discovered about the human body, exploring natural and creative solutions to finding health, and recording my own personal journey to finding health through my running career.
The Significance of My Blog Name
The name for my blog came to me while I was traveling in Peru. I was at a cross roads in my life where I was pursuing multiple career paths and I was a little overwhelmed in what direction I wanted to go. I felt like there were huge barriers in front of me, essentially these mountains that were so high they seem impossible to climb. I was putting pressure on myself to find inspiration, and of course whenever you try to force inspiration, it never works out. So after an amazing experience exploring Lake Titicaca, we arrived in Ollantaytambo late at night, incredibly exhausted and ready for some rest, and as my head was hitting my pillow, when my thoughts were idle, the name for my blog struck me.
Mountains Are Moving.
I immediately smiled because there was a duality in the phrase that was so perfect. Right now I have mountains I am trying to climb. It's hard and exhausting at times, but I am tackling them day by day, trying to move past them. I want to move what seems unmovable. But you can also say the phrase with the meaning that mountains bestow a sense of awe in you and light some unexplainable driving passion. For me, this expression means a lot, because in order to move mountains I need them to move me. Meaning, that if I am going to tackle big things, I need to have a passion lighting the way. Now this is my mantra and whenever I get overwhelmed, I remember that I want to live my life with passion and purpose, and I need to let those fuel each other because they are synergistic. Just like the phrase, Mountains Are Moving, I am aiming to have this duality in everything I do. Purpose and Passion drive each other. I want to do big things and move mountains, but I also want them to move me.
Highline Trail, Glacier Lake National Park