Traveling With Anxiety

I have been traveling since I was born - literally. I had to go see my grandparents in Poland.
I visit Europe almost every year if not more.
When I was younger I lived for the smell of the airport and airplanes because it just felt right. It gave me a sense of peace and adventure.

Traveling was my routine, I was no stranger and I knew everything about it.

Last year when I came back from Ireland I suffered the worst panic attack I have ever had. It lasted for an hour and almost prevented me from flying back home. (Thank u delayed airplanes) Which you can read about HERE!

I had some panic attacks previously but they were short and NOTHING like the one I experienced in the Philadelphia airport. I was STUNNED.

Long story short, it altered my traveling experiences. I was confused because I wasn't scared of flying. The idea of floating in air did not scare me at all, I had been doing it for YEARS. (18 to be exact)

Determined to not let my anxiety stop me from traveling, I started coping. I realized the main reasons I start feeling anxious while flying and narrowed it down to one - feeling trapped.

If you feel trapped while flying this may mean that you could feel out of control or claustrophobic. There are SEVERAL factors into feeling this way, and it can stem out to a LOT of other side effects. But after spending months and months in therapy or by myself questioning and studying

Here are some tips and tricks I've learned -

1. DRIVE!!! (if you can) Alright, this may sound completely obvious to some people, but for my family driving places is almost unheard of. Obviously we fly when going to a different country, but for even domestic trips we flew. Because of my dad's job we are able to get airplane tickets easily and cheaply(..er) . BUT because of where we live, sometimes flying can take longer or just as long as driving! I've started driving places instead of flying and it has created SUCH a sense of peace. Sometimes my family doesn't understand, but it honestly just lets me feel so much more in control and I enjoy the trip so much more when I can take my time.

2. Tell the Crew. This one can be kind of hard at times if you are like me and don't like telling the entire world about your illness or like...talking to people in general, this one can be VERY hard. Because two of the worst panic attacks i've ever had were right before boarding a plane, the crew had to know. They have been very understanding - some more than others, but nonetheless, they will do what they will be there to help. (I usually fly american/british airways and their crew are always so nice). If you are like me and feel better once someone knows that you are not feeling well, this could be all you need to keep yourself at ease while flying.

3. Bring food on the plane! Airplane food is no me gusta! If you are flying for a long period of time that requires eating a major meal on the plane, you may want to take this tip very seriously whether or not you have anxiety. I mean, they mean well with the food - and honestly, they have come a long LONG way since I started flying 19 years ago. But its still gloried microwavable plastic that you're putting into your body. This can create some weird things in your organs and can just make your anxiety even worse. Before flying I try to buy one giant snack which is usually cheese its or pretzels, and then a sandwich or something. Just by eating this food over the airplane food I have felt better and more energized. So I strongly suggest this change no matter for all people!

4. Pack smart! Packing for a trip is the equivalent of location for real estate. Packing, packing, packing. If you want to know how I pack HERE is where you can go to read about it. When flying American cross-atlantic you are allowed one carry on item and one personal item. In your personal item you basically need to pack your entire life. I keep my stuff in my personal item (which is usually a purse or backpack) because its much easier to dig around than a suitcase. In my purse I keep anything I will need during flight, which is illustrated in the article linked above. It is important that you have anything you need during a panic attack close to you just in case.

5. Know your plane. For me I always feel more at rest when I know where the bathroom is. When buying my seat I try get an isle spot which helps me feel less trapped, and preferably one close to the bathroom - just in case.

6. Bring a buddy. This could mean taking a friend along but in this case I mean something that can calm you down. For me, something I find therapeutic is petting my cats. Weird? probably... but I feel so much comfort. I can't really bring my cat to Europe with me so I bring a substitute - a little stuffed animal. This is kind of strange, I understand, but just by having something that I find peaceful with me helps a lot. I always had my little blueberry (my teddy's name. he's blue...) with me during the flight. So if you find flying hard sometimes, try bringing something that can bring you peace!


Being anxious about flying isn't something that can be fixed over night, and honestly can't be fixed with these few tips. Learning to cope is necessary but also hard and stressful. I hope this article can bring some rest to those of you who are struggling!

How To Pack in a Carry On for a Month in Europe

Yes, you read that title correctly. One month in Europe. One carry on.

Okay, I may have lied a little....because technically you get one carry on and one personal item.

If you have ever traveled with my dad, (which you should..hint hint. here's his website, take a peak Authentic Europe Travels! ) you will know how serious he is about his carry on luggage.

I have been to Europe....so many times. I have NEVER checked my luggage on the way. (He is more lenient with checking bags on the way back bc if lost its not a complete crisis).

All of that to say, I am literally so good at packing. There is not a suitcase that I cannot close. I can even close Sophia Fiore's bag which is a really big deal (hi sophia!!!).

So what do I bring?

First, lets start with what bags I take. I take a carry on size suitcase, which is 9 inches x 14 inches x 22 inches (22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm) according to the internet, and a personal item which is usually a purse or backpack. 

In the PERSONAL ITEM - literally everything I need. 
I keep my personal item close to me for easy access during my long plane rides. I am a short person so having a bag underneath the seat in front of me is not problem. I put my carry on bag in the over head compartment and my personal item in front of me. 
If you open my personal item you will find about 3 to 6 cosmetic bags. 

- In one of them will be my make up (shocker) which is usually close to the bottom bc I have given up on looking nice during a 12 hour flight. 
    - This is usually my biggest cosmetic bag so I will often try to put another couple of things in it such as my toothbrush or hair brush. 

- In the second bag close the bottom will be my contacts. In order to NEVER run out of contacts I just bring a months supply of both eye bc you just never know. Also in this bag is my glasses or my glasses container depending on whether or not I'm wearing them. 

- In the third bag is electronics!!! I tend to keep this bag towards the top because I don't want it to get smushed. Originally, this bag contains all of my electronics, but throughout the trip usually things get tossed around. In this bag I keep my camera (take the battery out!! this prevents it from turning on randomly and wasting the battery), the charger for the camera battery for when it does run out, memory cards!!! , a CONVERTER!!! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE GOING SOMEWHERE WITHOUT AMERICAN PLUG INS!!!!! (which is literally everywhere but north america and some of central america...and japan.) Then at the beginning of the trip, I have my phone charger and my headphones but usually these end up in the next bag because the next bag....

- has LITERALLY ALL IMPORTANT THINGS. This includes my medicine that I need (or may need) during the flight. This includes any prescription meds, tums, airborne, ibuprofen, gas x (yeah you know what those airplanes do to you....), advil, benadryl, allergy meds, and honestly every pill you've ever taken because .... you just never know. This doesn't mean you have to take each bottle, but create a travel pill bottle out of an old pill bottle where you put a couple of each in. I take one of these everywhere, they are so handy. In this bag I also put an extra pair of contacts just in case, some gum, chapstick!!! , any feminine products you may need, some grease plotter pads or whatever they're called bc planes just make u gross, and usually by the end of the flight my charger and my earphones are in this too. I keep this bag at the top of my bag for easy access, and usually sit with it because i'll need these things during flight. 

- another one that is close to the top of my bags is my LIQUIDS! If you are traveling completely carry on like I do you MUST put all of your liquids in one quart sized plastic bag. The liquids HAVE to be 3.4 ounces or 100 ml. I usually try to bring as much stick I can meaning stick deodorant and lotion (lush has great block lotions). This means my bag contains my toothpaste, my shampoo and conditioner, my acne wash, and contact solution. Sometimes I bring liquid base and I will add that to my bag. 

- Important things that I usually just have floating around my bag include : 
 - YOUR PASSPORT!!! 
 - YOUR WALLET!!!
 - My phone! 

These are all super important and should probably have a bag of their own but they don't... 

- Some random things that you may find in my bag 
 - underwear ... you just never know. honestly, i've never had to use these. but JUST IN CASE.
 - socks bc ur feet get cold in the air!!!
 - a teddy bear. u just really need one of those sometimes. 
 - at the bottom of the bag if its my time, you may find a giant bag full of tamps and pads. fun i know. 
 - sometimes a random book will fall into my bag in hopes that i may actually read it ... it never happens. 


In the CARRY ON, you will find everything else. 

My suitcase is two parts when opened. One side is open while the other one you can zip close. Throughout the trip as my clothes getting dirty (this means after three or four wears...or a major food spill) , I will move the dirty clothes into the other side of the suitcase. 
The other side of the suitcase will hold my shoes and my coats/jackets during colder weather. Usually ends up holding my curling iron and everything else I can't fit in the first compartment. 

Now this part is slightly less easy to explain because it changes from where you're going and what season you are going in. 

Typically I do most of my travels during the summer. It is always important to check the weather before you pack. If you are going to more northern parts of Europe, even during the summer.

If I am packing for colder weather - LAYERS, LAYERS, LAYERS! 
 - I will usually bring two or three pairs of pants. I will usually wear leggings on the plane over and I'll wear them again during the trip. These pants are usually 1 or two pairs of denim type jeans and one black pair. 
 - I will bring about 1 or 2 dresses that I can wear with sweaters and leggings. This means they're usually more plain. 
 - For tops I will bring 1 or 2 sweaters that I can wear with everything. I'll bring one or two statement shirts and about two or three neutral shirts. My shirts are usually softer material because they tend to pack easier and are much more comfy under layers. Sometimes I'll bring a cardigan but not always.
 - I bring underwear for EVERY SINGLE DAY. Don't listen to people when they say you can make it without it. YOU CAN'T. Don't think to yourself, "oh i'll just wash this in the sink" or "i'll buy some" or any other excuse. JUST PACK YOUR DANG PANTIES. they don't take up that much room. I'll usually bring one real bra and two or three bralettes. 
 - For shoes it is important to bring COMFY SHOES. ESPECIALLY if you are going to Europe. You will walk everywhere. I'll bring one pair of tennis shoes or sneakers and a pair of boots. Packing hack - put your socks inside of your shoes and inside of your sleeves. 

For warmer weather - 
 - I pack about the same amount of clothes but no sweaters and probably only one pair of pants + leggings. I tend to bring a cardigan more during the summer time because its needed at random times. 
 - for shoes I will bring tennis shoes, booties, but also a pair or two of COMFY sandals! 
 - depending on where i'm going, I may also bring a swimsuit.  

Also keep in mind that you are probably going to buy clothes while you are there which is why I don't go too crazy on packing. 

Hope this helps you better understand packing in a little compartment for a long amount of time! 
If you check your luggage. Thats a whole world that I have never experienced. Lucky you. 

London 2017!

As some of you may know, London is my ABSOLUTE favorite place in the world!
I love the diversity, the food, the entertainment, the shopping, the culture!!
I've been to London four times now, and each time I want MORE!
Someday I hope to live there - if not for life, at least for study abroad or an internship.

Where we stay!!

This summer I spent two separate times in London.
When my dad and I first got to Europe, we stopped in London for two days before heading to Scotland with the rest of the team.

Usually when I fly to Europe I get zero sleep and then I am a complete waste of person the next day. Surprisingly, this year I did not get any sleep but I was completely awake when we landed in London!
We knew our hotel would not be ready for us at 8 in the morning so we headed to a club outside the gates to eat breakfast and take a shower.

We took the heathrow express train to paddington, which is perfect because our hotel is right next to it.
When we arrived at our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised that our room was ready already!
Then I crashed. Asleep I went, from about 10 am to 4 pm.
Afterwards my dad and I went down to one of my favorite places....OXFORD STREET.
The shopping!!!!
I was now VERY awake. For dinner we went to my favorite place because I could not wait any longer. WAGAMAMA!!!
When we finished with wagamama, we made our way back to our hotel down Oxford Street when suddenly appeared a wild PRIMARK.

I follow British YoutTubers pretty closely, and despite my LOVE for all things U.K. I had never been to Primark before!!! And it was definitely something I was looking forward to during this trip.

Primark is crazy. Especially the one on Oxford. It has all things you could ever want or need. Clothes, Homeware, Make Up, Shoes, Luggage!? All for good prices. GOOD PRICES.

My dad warned me of how intense this Primark was but YOLO. I was going in. Y'all, it was an hour before closing. And it was STILL like Black Friday at Walmart CRAZY. Like people have literal baskets of clothes. Theres no room anywhere! People are trying clothes on in the middle of the aisle. There are FAMILIES all OVER the place. I was not prepared. But I TRIUMPHED ON!!!
I spent the entire hour there, I circled the store twice. This place was like forever 21 on steroids. I ended up with 7 items for 40 POUNDS!!! That is insane!!!

We took a double decker bus home and enjoyed the sights.

Sadly that night's sleep was NOT good.
I woke up at 2 am and could not fall back asleep until 6 am!!!
I told my dad I was going to sleep in - assuming he would wake me up around 10...nope....almost 2 pm and my dad is like "hey maybe u should wake up" YEAH PROBABLY.
Anyways, with basically the whole day gone ):
We went to Camden Road (or is it street?) on a Saturday. it was crazy full! But it was so fun! I loved seeing a different part of london that I had never seen before! There were hundreds of street vendors selling anything from keychains to clothes to realllllly good looking food.
Afterwards we met with a woman who my dad was helping with flights at a pub near paddington where I had snitzel of all places. I ate the entire thing which I don't think has ever happened to me in the history of ever.

The next day our group arrived and we left for Scotland! But don't worry, I returned back to London a few days later.

On our first day back to London it was HOT!!!

the good ol BIG BEN!

I went on this same trip last year and was FREEZING and this year I had shorts on and was sweeaaaating.
We started the day off by taking the train back to London, then going to our hotel to get our rooms. After we went to see the changing of the guards. We then went to a church service at Westminster Abbey and it was aMAZING. I loved it!
We walked towards our dinner (which was WAGAMAMAS!!!) so we passed Big Ben.
We needed to cross the bridge, but it was currently closed because of an 'incident'. The Manchester Bombing had only happened a few days prior, and London was on serious look out. We got the all clear but it was such an intense feeling.
We found WAGAMAMAS and I got the pad thai. yummmmmy.
Afterwards, we walked more around the city. We saw several police vans being hurried off towards different areas of the city. I never felt unsafe or nervous about the circumstance we were under. There were police EVERYWHERE.

The next day was just as hot and I thought the world was ending soon bc London is never this hot.
We started the day off on Baker Street at the Sherlock Holmes museum.
Afterwards, we headed towards the Palace to see the change of the guards!
We then made our way towards St Paul's Cathedral, which you may also know as the place where the lady from Mary Poppins sings feed the birds!
We had lunch down in the crypt and I made my way towards the gift shop and went a lil crazy. Its London, I can't help myself.
We were busy this day bc the next thing we did was go to the Globe Theater and watch Romeo and Juliet. The Globe is the place where Shakespeare performed!
We got standing seats and my feet were DEAD by the end! But the performance was good. They did a different take on Romeo and Juliet and they were painted as clowns. It was such a great take on Romeo and Juliet but I wish they had done it in a black box theater! The setting of the Globe calls for more of a classic take on Shakespeare.

Globe Theater!!!

With that being said, it was still super fun and a worthy experience!
We moved on towards dinner where ate at a place called Giraffe. It was interesting but I got guac which is all I really need in life.
Finally, at the end of the day with my aching little feet, we went to see Wicked! Wicked is not my favorite musical if i'm being honest. I LOVE the music but the story line...eh. But it had been probably around 8 or 9 years since I last saw it so I said OKAY!
The singing was AMAZING!!!! I loved it, but as always, the story line just doesn't work. One girls critique though.

The next day I woke up insanely early to catch a flight to Germany for my cousins wedding! Which concludes my time in London and the U.K.

Scotland 2017!

Photo by ian g black!!!

This past May I had the privilege to go back to one of my most favorite places - Edinburgh, Scotland.

I went with my dad's business - GoGlobal, and one of his tour groups!
This was my second time going to Scotland, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time.

My dad and I went to London a few days before the others so when they arrived in London, I was already adjusting to the time change.

To get to Edinburgh we took a train that lasted around 4 hours. It had about three to four stops before Edinburgh, and continued on after. It was such a great experience and I was glad I got to see the countryside. There were so many shetland ponies and sheep!

When we arrived in Edinburgh, we walked to our apartment on Windsor street. It was huge! There were four bedrooms with 15 beds total. 3 and a half bath, with a kitchen and a living room. One of the rooms had 7 beds, which we nicknamed the orphanage room, and that is where I slept with 5 other girls.

The first night in Edinburgh we took it easy. We went to a grocery store to get food for breakfast, and then we got pizza. Afterwards we played Heads Up and took an early night.

One the second day of Edinburgh we walked ALL over the city!

My dad made sure to show us all the interesting parts of Edinburgh. This included the Palace, the Parliament, and the Royal Mile.

After lunch, the group attended the walking tour of Edinburgh. I did not partake in this as I had done it the year before. It was so fun the first time! We had such a great tour guide. The tour included St. Gile's Cathedral, the Royal Mile, and even the cemetery that J.K. Rowling found some of her muses in.
The group said their tour guide was just as amazing as mine was last year, and that he did the nightly Ghost Tour that started at 9:30. We all wanted to go so bad and were excited!

That night we ate food at a pub with amazing service. I had a little embarrassing but super funny moment with one of the waitress when I thought she was my dad.

After dinner we did more walking around Edinburgh. We walked down Prince's street and eventually ended up by the Castle. My friends and I popped into a pub to use the bathroom and when we came outside. IT. WAS. POURING. Luckily I was wearing a rain coat, but most of the team was not.
I walked outside the pub and what was usually a very crowded street was completely empty - including my dad and the rest of my group. I kept my cool as I low-key glanced around the road trying to find someone when I heard my name, "KASIA!" but still no face to match the words! God? Is that you?

the good part about intense rain is no one is crowding your pics!

No. it was my dad, he was hiding in an alley way with the rest of the group. I found them eventually but we laughed about the incident for quite some time.

We made our way up to the Royal Mile - it was around 9:00 pm. I'm not kidding when I say that it was POURING. I had not been that soaked since the first day of my junior yr of high school!
Terran, Savannah, and Mike went to buy ponchos from a souvenir store and came back in these giant yellow bags.
The yellow bags were not successful and caused a lot of laughter.

The saddest news was that it was torrential downpour and we couldn't do the ghost walk.
By the time we got back to our apartment around 9:20, the rain lightened up, but we lived around 20 or 30 minutes away from the royal mile.
We decided to call it a night because we were FREEZING from the rain.

The third day of Edinburgh started with a trip to one of their art museums.
Majority of the group went and hiked a hill surrounding Edinburgh, but due to my insane hatred for mornings, I decided to take it slow and attend the museum with my dad and another group member.
The museum was amazing and had such great pieces!
After the museum we met up with the rest of the group outside St. Gile's cathedral and we attended their church service. It was a short devotional and a reading from the Scripture.

my amazing salmon!

Lunch was after and we had free reign on where we could eat. A few of us chose a pub called The World's End because it had 'award winning fish and chips', which were amazing might I add.
While we were there, we met some guys from Australia named Liam and Nathan. Hey guys!!!

After lunch the group went to the Edinburgh Castle, but similar to the walking tour, I had already been to it last year. I opted out so that I could go meet my friend Ian G Black, and instagram photographer that I had met last year on my visit!
We met back at the same art museum I was at earlier that day. Ian took me up the Scots monument, an awesome structure that requires walking up what seemed a thousand tiny stairs! (it really is only 289 steps, but it felt like more!)

Dunnottar Castle!

The view once you get to the top is WORTH IT! You can see all of Edinburgh! It was truly an amazing experience and I'm thankful for Ian taking me up there!
Of course we took some pictures while we were together!

After meeting with Ian, we met up with the group and went to dinner at another pub. While waiting for the entire group, I ran into Ian again! So of course, we took more pictures. After dinner we went home and missed the ghost tour - again.

The last day in Edinburgh may have been my favorite! Though most of it was not spent in Edinburgh - it was in the country side.
While majority of our group flew to Dublin for the day, three of us and my dad stayed back to explore the country side of Scotland. It was amazing!
My dad rented a car and DROVE us there! On the wrong side of the road! It was an experience, that is for sure. But we lived. We lived.
Our first stop was the Dunnottar Castle which was about two hours away from Edinburgh. It. Was. Amazing!
This was my first time to this castle and the scenery was breathtaking! I have been traveling since birth, and I have seen a lot of castles. I'm kind of castle snob. But this one, I liked this one! It sat on top of hill surrounded by beautiful water!
The hike up from the castle was a work out but worth it!

After the castle we drove through little villages and ended up in Inverbervie Scotland. We ate at this cafe called Butternut Bistro and I was amazed! It had a great selection of food and all of it was locally made!

We spent the rest of the day driving through the country side. It was such an amazing day!

I loved my time in Scotland. The people there are always so nice to tourists and create such a warm and welcoming environment! I cannot wait for my return!

Here is my video from Scotland! Feel free to watch!