Holding Patterns

Change is the thing that happens to you. Transition is what happens within you.  In this episode, I walk through the Bridges Transition Model and use it to make sense of where I am right now: the guiding season ended, I’m back in Colorado, and I don’t quite feel like myself yet. If you know a change is coming and the “what comes after” is making you anxious, or you’ve already been through a change...

Between traveling, being a little disconnected from Wi-Fi, and trying to be as present as possible with the people I love, this episode took a bit longer to make its way out into the world. But we are finally back and I am very excited to share this conversation with Moisés Kraft this week! Moisés and I met while studying abroad in Spain during COVID. Five years, a lot of life changes, and countle...

What if the Holding Pattern can help you get clear on what you want to build your life around? This week I'm joined by my friend Nelly Alger, who I met while living in New Zealand. We catch up on her second summer running a youth conservation crew in Denver, and then dive into the heart of this episode: her holding pattern after leaving New Zealand, and how she found her way out of it. Nelly's hol...

What if we’ve done ourselves a disservice by centering our whole lives around the pursuit of happiness? In episode 12, Joe Hutchinson and I explore what happens when the things we think will make us happy don't quite do the trick. We talk about depression, losing a sense of direction, constantly searching for what's next, and the pressure we put on ourselves to find the life that will finally make...

What if our decisions were less about finding the “right” path and more about choosing what feels right for who we are today? In this episode of Holding Patterns , I sit down with my friend Michael Bortnowski to talk about what happens when we give ourselves permission to change course and trust that each chapter will give us something we need for the next. Mike has taken some pretty major turns....

For episode 10, I'm bringing you another solo episode. This isn't an episode about what I've learned, it's an episode about what it sounds like while I'm still learning it. It's a little messy and unpolished, because I'm still in the middle of this Holding Pattern, and I wanted to document it before I had all the answers. I spend a lot of time talking about anxiety; how it shows up in my life, whe...

This week’s guest is one of my best friends, Lexi Sullens. Lexi is a teacher, a two-time master's graduate, and someone who has spent the last several years building a life between Spain and the US. We met while studying abroad in Sevilla in the spring of 2021, and five years later, we're still finding our way through holding patterns together. This episode is a fun mix of sharing our friendship l...

This week, my friend Kate and I are talking about our obsession with certainty, and all the ways we try to create it when life refuses to give it to us. Kate is an Outward Bound instructor and middle school English teacher. Outside of her professional endeavors, she defines herself as an enthusiast of escaping into the wilderness and an advocate for earnestness.  From chasing achievement and valid...

This episode is for anyone who has wondered what it actually means to live the "traveler" lifestyle for years at a time. Today, I have my friend Andi Borden on the podcast. She has spent the majority of her adulthood living a very nomadic life; many titles can be used to describe her: chef, baker, activist, tree-planting cook, shelter worker…honestly, the list goes on. She's someone who has truly...

In this episode of Holding Patterns, I chat with my friend and fellow tour guide, Regan Fox, to talk about solo travel, loneliness, the excitement of uncertainty, and the strange beauty of not having life figured out. Regan shares the winding path that took her from studying environmental management in Florida to living in Bakersfield, California, traveling solo through Morocco and Europe, working...

In this episode of Holding Patterns , I sit down with Nico Iriondo, a friend I met while working at a ski resort in New Zealand. We have a really honest conversation about life abroad, identity, and what happens when you keep stepping into the unknown. Nico has spent the last six years traveling the world, visiting over 70 countries, and living through multiple versions of himself. From corporate...

In this episode, I sit down with my friend Caroline Kane, whom I met in New Zealand, and she has been expanding my perspective and world ever since! From Fort Collins, Colorado, Caroline created a career path for herself within wildland fire. She has spent years moving between seasonal roles, including guiding, working on chainsaw crews and prescribed burns, often living in tents, working long sea...

In this episode, I sit down with one of my best friends and my favorite Argentinian, Madalen Azpeitia. We met working at a heli-ski lodge and later reunited in Nelson, BC. Madi shares her upbringing in a close, immigrant-rooted Argentinian family and strong cultural expectations to attend university and follow a conventional path. After studying international relations and then law, Madi’s holisti...

In this episode, I speak with my roommate/soul sister/friend, Brittany Nutt, a registered massage therapist and energy worker who previously worked as a tree planter for 10 years. Britt shares her experience growing up in a small rural BC town as the youngest of three, shaped by financial stress and a strong sense of independence. She describes a difficult period after ending relationships, feelin...

Welcome to Holding Patterns! This first episode of the podcast is a bit different than the rest - it's a solo one. I am diving into the origin of Holding Patterns and the motivation behind this creative endeavor. Additionally, I discuss feeling stuck after university, how relationships and conversations broadened my perspective, and a heartbeat analogy I learned from a friend in New Zealand about...