Jessica Morell - March 2025

At 16, she worked three jobs nonstop, but by senior year, she knew she had to leave. With her last $1,000, she bought a ticket to Australia—no plan, just a one-way flight. The moment the plane took off, she sobbed, realizing she had no idea what came next. In Sydney, still lost, she picked two strangers and followed them through buses and trains until they reached a youth hostel. From there, she found her footing—and spent the next year traveling.