When I was 18, a senior in high school, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I battled the condition until I underwent three surgeries in 2010 to remove my colon, and correct the condition.  While I was sick, I felt severely limited in what I could do, and that was a terrible feeling.  For 6 years it was the same pattern. A flare up followed by more medicine and eventually a calm period, followed by another flare up.  Countless ER visits, doctors appointments, blood tests and pills later, I am finally free of it all and decided to do something with my new life.

Now that I am better I realize there are ways to do things I never believed possible, like travel and experiencing the world. So I began Ty’s World Trek. I want to inspire people, whether they are at the peak of health or dealing with a chronic condition like I have (Ulcerative Colitis), to get out there and see this amazing planet we live on. It’s a big place with billions of people to meet and places to see, to be a part of, to contribute to.  The only thing that holds us back is our own view of what is possible.

My goal is to circumnavigate the globe without using an airplane.  I have so far gone nearly 12,000 miles to this end using buses, trains, and boats.  I am also trying to do it as inexpensively as possible, so I am finding and using resources that allow me to volunteer for my room and board and to stay with people I meet online through cultural exchange websites. It’s an exciting time to be a world traveler, because technology is making it easier to find people, places and things to do, and to share these experiences as well.

My Mission is to inspire people to travel and experience the world we live in.  When I was sick, I felt that I couldn’t do something like this, and that was a really defeating kind of mindset.  Now that I am better I realize there were ways to do quite a bit of what I’m doing, albeit on a smaller scale. I want people who are sick, who are shy, who are adventurous, who are broke, who are busy to know that if they really want to do it, its possible. Go Do It!

Through it all I will be sharing what I do, see and experience here with you.