This week we bring back our very first Love Everywhere Ambassador Feature with our dear friend Kym from San Diego, California! Read on below about her love of baking, her amazing travels, and some of her favorite things about her city.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love to read! My ideal Sunday would probably be spent in bed reading, hehe. I also like practicing calligraphy, painting, and making art and music. Oh, and baking. When I was in college, I got a text at 10 pm saying that they were going to cancel all classes the next day due to a typhoon. I was hungry and had a big jar of peanut butter sitting on my shelf so at midnight I was baking peanut butter cookies while the rain poured and the wind howled outside. Thus began my love story with baking, haha.
It’s Thursday; you just won a free trip to Iceland leaving on Monday. Your flight and hotel are booked; your visa is ready. What are the top five things you do before you leave?
I was actually in Iceland a few months ago on a layover, so the top five things I would do before I left would be:
1. Bring warm clothes!!
2. Double-check the exchange rate (Because I bought a lot of trinkets last time thinking they were cheap but they actually weren’t)
3. Make an itinerary to visit the places that Walter Mitty did.
4. Make sure I have enough LE cards to bring along so I can share love everywhere :)
5. Ask them if I could bring a friend because while traveling solo has it’s perks, it’s still way more fun with someone else.
Why did you want to be an LE Ambassador?
One of my favorite stories goes like this: One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked: “Young man, what are you doing?” The boy replied “I’m throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them out, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said “Do you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t possibly make a difference.” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I made a difference to that one.”
When I first heard about Love Everywhere and the mission behind the cards, it touched my heart. There are so many people in this world that are hurting or just need a kind word to get them through the day. And what better way to be able to reach out to them than through these cards? Yes, I realize that there are miles and miles of ground to cover and thousands of people. But I believe that each card makes a difference. And even if, out of the hundreds of cards we’ve spread throughout the world, only one person’s spirit was lifted and encouraged… well, I still think it’s worth it :)
What is your favorite thing about your city?
I’m blessed to live in America’s Finest City: San Diego. I love having guests/friends over because there’s so much to do around here! I like walking around Balboa Park and listening to the musicians that play in the corridors. The Central library in the East Village has floor to ceiling windows on the 9th floor with a beautiful view of the city and is the perfect place to read or study. There’s an ice cream shop in National City that’s been open since 1984 and has THE best flavors. And just this morning I drove out to Coronado beach to spend some time watching the waves and clearing my head before the week starts.
What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
This is kind of a hard question because I feel like I’m the recipient of so many kind deeds I can’t pick just one! So I’ll name a few, haha. The other day, I woke up late and had to rush to work so I didn’t get to eat breakfast. About 2 hours into work, one of my coworkers handed me a breakfast sandwich, and he didn’t even know that that I hadn’t eaten yet. Once, when I was having a rough week, a friend of mine who was currently in Malawi for school, stayed up late to listen to me cry over the phone when she could have been working on her thesis. Last, but not least, sometimes people signal for me to cut in front of them on the road, which is also a very nice thing that I feel is underrated.
This is kind of a hard question because I feel like I’m the recipient of so many kind deeds I can’t pick just one! So I’ll name a few, haha. The other day, I woke up late and had to rush to work so I didn’t get to eat breakfast. About 2 hours into work, one of my coworkers handed me a breakfast sandwich, and he didn’t even know that that I hadn’t eaten yet. Once, when I was having a rough week, a friend of mine who was currently in Malawi for school, stayed up late to listen to me cry over the phone when she could have been working on her thesis. Last, but not least, sometimes people signal for me to cut in front of them on the road, which is also a very nice thing that I feel is underrated.
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We are currently accepting applications for 2017 Ambassadors! If you'd like to join our mission of spreading love everywhere we go, apply here between now and 1/27/17