When is your next adventure?

About me

Hi! My name is Bisa, and I'm a breast cancer thriver, plus-size adventurer, writer, and photographer.

After finishing treatment for breast cancer, I received a 5-year survivorship plan. It included monthly, then quarterly test and doctor visits. Instead of worrying about whether or not the disease would return, I created a recovery plan of my own. My plan included exploring the world around me and new experiences.

The blog's mission is to remind you we can create a life we love despite our weight and circumstances. My goal is to inspire others to follow their dreams and not wait for a devasting diagnosis to live the life you've always wanted. I want to share the power of travel to help through anxiety, stress after having breast cancer.

Join me on my journey. I still have miles to travel

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Where I've Been

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Recent Posts

Couples Therapy with My first true love . . . . Travel

2 months agoAdd comment

This blog post is inspired by the podcast “All The Shit I’ve Learned Abroad: Travel Therapy episode 50. In this episode, the hosts, Steph and Andrea, had couples therapy with their first true love . . . . travel. I revealed yesterday that travel is my therapy, and I’ve...

Curry Ramen Noodles Recipe

2 months ago2 comments

Quarantine has forced many of us to cook more meals at home. It should be no surprise that when I asked you on Instagram what I should write about, the majority said food. Since we can’t travel, I wanted to make a dish that reminds of remind me of Asia. I decided to make a Japanese...

2019 Travel Summary

5 months agoAdd comment

2019 Travel As I was putting together the list of all of the places I visited in 2019, I realized that I traveled a lot more than I thought. Not all travel requires a passport stamp and an airplane. It was fun going through all of my pictures and reliving the experience. I was able to...

A&A Ballet Presents The Art Deco Nutcracker

7 months agoAdd comment

A&A Ballet Presents The Art Deco Nutcracker When we think of Christmas, you can’t help but think about the Nutcracker. Another Christmas tradition I have never seen before. Last night that all changed. I was given tickets to see the American Ballet Theatre’s production of “The...

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Fifteen years ago, in April 2005, I received my first passport stamp when I arrived in London, England. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I always knew I wanted to travel, but I don't know-how. We didn't have travel blogs like it is now. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I thought I only had two options: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1. Get married and go on a honeymoon or 2. find a job that would send me out of the country. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ At the age of 31, I was still single, and I didn't have a job that would send me farther than NYC. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Which was ok, that is how I ended up moving to NYC to live. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How did I finally get to go to London? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A friend of mine got a job that sent her around the world. One day I got a message from her asking me if I wanted to meet her in London. I also went to Paris that year. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It took a while before I left the country again. I got tired of waiting on others and planned my trips by myself. #amplifymelanatedvoices #amplifyblackvoices #lifeaftercancer #plussizeadventure
I consider myself a flexitarian. Although I have a mostly plant-based diet, I do enjoy eating chicken and fish. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The food at vegan restaurants like @majanivegancuisine, you won't miss the taste of meat. There are two locations on the Southside of Chicago; I went to the one in the Pullman area. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Majani is just one of the black-owned restaurants I've visited in the Chicagoland area. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I've compiled a list that you can find in my profile. I've added a few others that are on my must-visit list. I will keep adding new restaurants to the list. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Pictured: BBQ Cauliflower and Crab (Tofu) Cake Sandwich with sweet potatoes.
To keep up with #WaterfallWednesday, this is Faxafoss in Iceland. I kept in the blooper video; I thought she was taking my picture. I try not to be a follower, but I wanted to get to the top of the waterfall. So I followed a couple of people. (See photo) To my surprise, there was a safer route if by just walked through the parking lot. 😜 #blackpeoplewhohike #amplifymelanatedvoices #amplifyblackvoices #lifeaftercancer #plussizeadventure
Yesterday was #NationalCameraDay. I asked for a camera for almost every birthday, Christmas, graduation when I was young. I did get a camera a couple of times, but I was disappointed because it wasn't a ”real” camera. I wanted a camera as the professional photographers had on tv. As soon as I could afford a more expensive camera, I did. I went a little overboard one year, and that's why I have three. They're all different, and do use all three of them. The Nikon is a point and shoots that I love to use when I don't want to fuse with shutter speeds, ISO, and lenses. The Canon is when I feel like a professional. The Olympus is a mirrorless camera, and it is lightweight. I forgot to include my 360 camera. Yes, I have a problem. Do you have a favorite camera that you shoot with or is on your wishlist?
My girls were surprised when they found that I had tattoos. It wasn't that I was hiding them. I think it's hard for them to imagine me young or that I would do anything they considered cool. Where we live, you can get a tattoo at 16 with parents' permission. I always said no. In my opinion, if you need my consent, then your not old enough to do it. Plus, a tattoo is permanent, and I'm not going to sign something, and you blame me when you change your mind a year later. The top right is one of my tattoos. And yes, it's of Garfield. I barely remember why I chose Garfield. I liked asking people if they wanted to see my cat. 😜 It was funny to me then. If you look closely, part of his finger is gone. The only thing I would do differently is to leave it. 🤭 The bottom two pictures are two of my girl's tattoos. One is in honor of their mother and a positive affirmative. I’m glad I made them wait. Who knows what they would have chosen at 16. Do you have a tattoo that you regret or wish you had gotten something different?
I am starting back my weekly inspirational posts. Sometimes we feel like we don't have control over the things that happen in our lives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We do have control over repeating our mistakes. Maybe we don't know how to fix it, or it is the easy way out. But do realize it is a decision.
Black Hikers Week Day 4 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Today @BlackPeopleWhoHike, they are discussing the effects of hiking and your overall health. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hiking helped my mental health. Often people think you finish treatment for cancer, and you survive that it's over, and your life goes back to normal. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ That is not true. When treatment ended, I was an emotional mess. I struggled with anxiety and fear. I think I cried every day for a straight year. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I was not prepared for some of the physical side effects that you experience after chemo and radiation. Even if they had told me none of it seemed bigger than saving my life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hiking helped me to clear my head and make peace with my decisions and become calmer. Being out in nature has the power to heal. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ve been in remission for four years this week. 🎉 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There is a link in my profile to the story I wrote for World Nomads about hiking MT Kilimanjaro, ”The Hardest Thing I’ve Done.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Taken on a day hike at Materuni Falls, we took before climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. More waterfalls. . . . #cancerThriver #BlackHikersWeek #blackhikers #Blackpeoplewhohike #amplifymelanatedvoices #amplifyblackvoices #lifeaftercancer #plussizehiker
Black Hikers Week Day 3 Today is #WaterFallWednesday. How can you not feel at peace from listening to the sounds of a waterfall? Take a moment, close your eyes, and listen. Ahhhh. Don't you feel better? I also love this video because it captured the 🌈 rainbow. Photo: Skogafoss Waterfalls in Iceland . . . #BlackHikersWeek #blackhikers #Blackpeoplewhohike #amplifymelanatedvoices #amplifyblackvoices #lifeaftercancer #plussizehiker
This week is Black Hikers week. I am a little late to the party. This should have been a day two post. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I started hiking after I had this crazy idea to hike a mountain named Kilimanjaro. After the first day on a trail when training, I was hooked. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ One of my favorite trails is Swallow Cliff in Palos Heights, IL. I took this picture during one of my hikes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #BlackHikersWeek #Blackpeoplewhohike #lifeaftercancer #blackpeoplewhohike #amplifymelanatedvoices #amplifyblackvoices #plussizehikers #plussizedtravelblogger #plussizehiker #blacktravelbloggers ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀