The long way
forward.

Six months, a standby pass, and a decision to see what was beyond the next departure gate.

06months moving

03defining chapters

AOWscuba certified

00 / Why I went

Lincoln, NE → Everywhere

At the end of 2023, I was moving through one of the hardest periods of my life.

A six-month standby flight pass gave me an unexpected way forward: somewhere to go, a reason to stay curious, and room to find my footing again.

For the first six months of 2024, I traveled. Not to check countries off a list, but to be present in places completely unlike home: navigating Tokyo, living aboard a dive boat off Cairns, descending into Mexican cenotes, and learning to be comfortable with plans that changed by the hour.

Travel did not resolve everything I was carrying. It did make my world larger. It taught me to adapt quickly, ask better questions, and accept that the most worthwhile experiences rarely arrive on a predictable schedule.

Elijah reflected repeatedly in a blue mirrored installation — 001 A different angle changes everything.

LincolnTokyoKyotoOsakaCairnsYucatán

01 / Japan

The place I kept
coming back to.

Japan became the center of those six months: equal parts old and new, quiet and electric. My usual route began in Tokyo, continued by Shinkansen to Kyoto, and ended in Osaka. I went for the food, design, history, games, and animation. I kept returning because every stop made the familiar feel new again.

Elijah at Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto — **Kyoto**Kinkaku-ji · Golden Pavilion

Elijah in front of the life-size Unicorn Gundam in Tokyo — **Tokyo**Unicorn Gundam · Odaiba

Elijah at the Evangelion thirtieth anniversary exhibition — **Tokyo**Evangelion · 30th anniversary

Elijah walking through Akihabara in Tokyo

01TokyoStart in Akihabara

The torii paths at Fushimi Inari in Kyoto

02KyotoFushimi Inari

Elijah at the entrance to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan

03OsakaUniversal Studios Japan

Osaka / USJ

Stepping into the games I grew up with.

Super Nintendo World turns level design into a physical place: paths, sightlines, sound cues, hidden details, and question blocks included.

Elijah inside the Mushroom Kingdom at Super Nintendo World

Elijah seated beneath a glowing question block at Super Nintendo World

Elijah scuba diving in open blue water off Cairns

DESCENT // 18 M

02 / Australia

Three days
off the grid.

I lived aboard a dive boat for three days off the coast of Cairns and earned my Advanced Open Water certification.

Life narrowed to weather, equipment checks, meals with strangers, and the next descent. Underwater, communication becomes deliberate and every decision has a consequence. It is one of the clearest places I know.

3days liveaboard

AOWcertification earned

∞reasons to return

03 / Mexico

History above.
Another world below.

I traveled to the Yucatán to stand beneath Chichén Itzá and dive the cenotes: freshwater caverns where sunlight cuts through clear water into chambers below the jungle. One journey held both the scale of human history and the quiet of a place hidden underground.

Elijah at El Castillo in Chichén Itzá, Mexico — 20.6843° N88.5678° W

04 / The rest of the map

Curiosity is the
common thread.

Travel, scuba, science fiction, Lego, games, and software all begin the same way for me: wanting to know what is inside, underneath, or around the next corner.