Image: @TheHappyTalent on Instagram

You know what sucks about human psychology? We're hardwired to be scared, lonely, ableist, and jealous. Happiness and contentment feel good -- but from an evolutionary perspective, they're worthless.

​Meanwhile, people who felt scared avoided dangerous activities. People who felt jealous were less likely to raise offspring that weren't theirs. People who were never satisfied with what they had hoarded resources that kept them alive during droughts and famines. People who gossiped knew whom to trust and whom to avoid.

Evolutionarily, fear is an extremely important emotion... but in the modern world, it's often maladaptive. For example, people's obsession with the idea that women should never run/travel/leave the house alone, because if they do, they'll totally get raped and murdered. 

The reality is: No. They won't.

If you turn on the news or login to Twitter, you may be overwhelmed by the crushing sense that our country is more divided than ever...

So let's celebrate the one thing we can ALL agree on: the driver always picks the music.

I spent the last two months in Indonesia and the Philippines -- which means I've had more than my share of opportunities to get seasick. From day trips to see the dugongs in Coron to island hopping in El Nido to liveaboards in the Komodo Islands, I definitely earned my sea legs.

And! I learned a really cool and potent way to fight seasickness, using only my mind.

​Well... maybe not ALWAYS.

Ping pong and Katy Perry in Mandalay, Myanmar. What could be better?

​You know some of my favorite places to visit? The ones where, when people hear you speaking English, they don't rush over to sell​ you something -- they rush over to ask you if you're from California, if you've ever met George Bush, or if you own guns.

"It is a happy talent to know how to play," Ralph Waldo Emerson once said. 

He was exactly right. According to my master's research, playfulness isn't a trait -- it's a skill. But due to the ubiquity of technology (read: passive entertainment) and high-achieving childhoods, many young adults have yet to develop their leisure skills. 

The fact that they're making less money and are more likely to have debt than ever doesn't help.

I recently returned from a trip to Southeast Asia -- and I learned and saw so many things. Some made me happy. Some made me sad. And some... were kind of amusing.

For example, the observation that about 1 in 7 white guys had his arm in a sling...

Guys, I'm, like, soooo vaccinated right now!

​In just a few days, I'm headed to Thailand. Then Sri Lanka. Then Vietnam. Then... who knows? And, at the last minute, I decided to do the responsible thing and get my vaccines.

Three weeks ago, I had never heard of a place called Bonaire. But then, one day, I decided to Google "world's best shore diving," and Bonaire kept showing up -- usually in the number one spot -- on every list.

So I did an image search for Bonaire, fell in love, and booked a flight.

As my departure rapidly approached, I checked the CDC website to read their recommendations for water and food safety in Bonaire.

​Like many things, the government got it all wrong. 

Just me, myself and I, hanging out at the Rio Celeste in Costa Rica. #MieScattering

Let me start by saying, you're right. I am pretty cool for traveling alone. It's something I love about myself -- that if I see something I want, I go for it. Even if "it" is a country on the other side of the world, and no one else wants to go there with me.