Over the summer this year, I experienced the most unique and breathtaking landscape I had ever witnessed: the Badlands of South Dakota.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that when we first got out of the car to explore the landscape, I started to cry.

The vastness, the silence, the slow wind, the rocky ground and the ceiling of the cottony, white clouds, were almost too much for me to process at first. Because it wasn’t a place just to see with your eyes, but to feel it with your heart. And I also felt very small.

I’ve never been much of a traveler, I think mostly from fear or lack of money. But the long trip to South Dakota changed me. When we left the Badlands on a long stretch of road that seemed to be endless, it struck me right there that there are so many things out there to see, waiting just for me to catch it. The world is beautiful out there and sadly, I think I’ve spent too much time at home. We have such a short time on this earth so going forward I want to try to face the fear and save the money to see as much as I can …

… And to try to be a role model for future explorers and hooligans.

Next: Needles Highway, the second coolest place ever.

Photos: Shot with iPhone 8 and Canon Rebel xsi