Who is Pella, and why is she a pilgrim?

Hello, I am Pella. I am a traveler and this is my blog. I am originally from South Florida (close to, but not Miami). I am a self-described nerd "but, I'm not like all the other nerds; I'm a cool nerd".

So why does this young black-American woman call herself a pilgrim? You are not the first person to wonder. No, I cannot track my ancestry back to the Mayflower... and no, I'm not 'transracial'.

The answer isn't that interesting. As I prepared for my first travels abroad, I wanted to write a blog. I like alliteration and landed on Pella the Pilgrim.

In my 6th grade world history class there was a lesson about the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca known as the hajj. It was the first time I had ever heard the term pilgrim(age) outside the context of the colonizing Puritans.

As it turns out, a pilgrim is traveler or wanderer who travels to a foreign place (especially a place of great personal importance). From then on, I always knew the distinction between a pilgrim and the Pilgrims. I'm a 'pilgrim' with a lower case 'p'. Hear the difference?

After the magic that was my first jaunt abroad (a 5 month semester in Austria), I felt like the name was kismet. I did so much growing and learning during that time. A pilgrimage is a journey or moral/religious/spiritual significance. Time and time again, in my travels I have seen the beauty in nature (Alexa,play God is Real by India.Aire). I have found kindness in the homes of strangers. I have had to be bolder and more flexible than I had ever been before. I have had the universe answer wishes that I never had the gall to say aloud.

So, in this revamp of my blog I decided to keep the name. Because 1) I wanted to keep the mojo that comes with the name. I want every place I travel to be significant and 2) naming things is hard and frankly, I don't have the time.

- Until next time,

Pella

The gif is from FX TV show 'Atlanta'