A week from today, I’ll embark on the greatest adventure I’ve taken since I was 19 years old. As a staff expert for the University of Michigan Alumni Association, I’ll travel to Europe for a 10-day excursion centered on Iceland and the Northern Lights. The tour director will guide our guests through Iceland, and I’ll lead our guests to the Aurora!

Not only will this be my first official run as an Aurora tour guide, but it will mark the first time I’ve traveled abroad in over 20 years. I never lost that curiosity and zest for life I had as a teenager, but over the years, I’ve endured several life-shattering tragedies that subdued my true self and put my goals on hold, while I began the long journey to emotional healing.

In my online presence, I’m now known for constantly celebrating my wins and boasting about the victories of myself and others. But this is a choice. It’s a conscientious and public embrace of going the distance, reaching for the stars, and pursuing our dreams.

To put everything into perspective, it was only seven years ago that I was isolated at home, having panic attacks for wanting more out of life, and finding hidden empty whiskey bottles — heeding the advice I was given to stay small and be private. What was so important about witnessing the Milky Way? Did I really want to lead an international conference? Why did I need to publish a book?

Seven years ago.

It is just mind-blowing to wake up today, and realize that I lead a wholly different life. And this isn’t a dream. I have actually made it in the world as an independent author, community leader, and international tour guide.

I have to pack!!

But first, I want to get back to the heart-work, the soul-food, the vessel of my passion for the Northern Lights. It is the writing. The reflection. The awe. The transformation.

When I first fell in love with the Aurora, it happened while gazing at “angels.” A brilliant photograph of the corona, the holy grail of Aurora Chasers, decorated the front page of the news. The Aurora appeared in vivid color, in the center of the night sky, forming a distinctive shape — her soft lines portraying a head with swaying hair and depicting a set of two enormous, intricately-shaped wings.

My heart thawed. My spirits lifted. My soul connected more strongly than it ever had before. I had been inconsolable, after the loss of my own 13-year-old twin angels. Were they up there somewhere, dancing in the delicate hours of the night? What about my late mother? My late father? My late step-parents? The beloved grandfather who raised me?

Back then, I had never seen the Aurora, but the angel in that photograph gave me purpose.

When the Aurora danced just over two weeks ago, bringing us the second strongest geomagnetic storm of Solar Cycle 25, I was on my knees. It was October 10, 2024. Only this year, I was leading over 70 people on a Live Chase through the night to catch the Aurora, together with Michigan Aurora Chasers Leader Nate Stovall. On a flat rock jutting out against the dark waters of Lake Huron, we helped our crew witness one of the most awe-inspiring displays of my lifetime. Right here in lower Michigan! That night, the Aurora peaked and presented the corona, creating distinctive shapes and formations in the apex of the sky. Over and over again.

A dragon. A bear. A phoenix.

Any experienced Aurora Chaser embarks on a chase like this with high confidence that the Northern Lights will move dramatically, rise high into the sky, and even reveal its amazing colors. But there’s no way we could have predicted the sheer amount of corona we would see that night! In early October, chasers in the mid-latitudes experienced a display reminiscent of the polar regions. A display like one you might see in Iceland. Aurora danced in all her glory, expanding to the east, west and south, glowing in almost every color imaginable. Twice inside of one week.

She also appeared in the form of an angel. An entire chorus of angels! I’ve felt somewhat guarded lately, but at the very sight, my heart began to sing again.

I confess, the farther I go in my pursuits, the more challenging it becomes. It’s tough to balance the demands of my day job with my hours moonlighting as an Aurora Chaser. It’s difficult to schedule every talk and interview and online episode I want to produce. A third edition of my book will be published one day. There’s too much great content not to pursue this. And I haven’t even started working on my memoir! Perhaps hardest of all, though, is the moments when people have challenged me. Or doubted me. Or confessed that they are jealous of how far I’ve come — how far we’ve come!

The group I founded, the Michigan Aurora Chasers, surpassed 127,000 members this week. Our website, which I built on a whim in August, has already garnered over 37,000 views.

But we have to keep it in perspective! I am honored, humbled, almost embarrassed at the level of success I’ve had so far.

I will be the first to tell you there are smarter people in the field! There are amateur forecasters doing the hard work of learning how we can better understand this “space weather.” There are professional researchers working to advance our texts on the science. There are entire organizations advocating to save our dark skies, so we can still witness these life-changing displays for years to come.

My real claim to fame is that I love every aspect of the chase. From the ancient legends and myths, to the forecasting, the identification, the real-world chasing, the photography, the science, the history, the future! And here’s the other thing to keep in perspective. Yes, I am so very fortunate to enjoy these opportunities. But I have worked hard to get where I am today. While I’m outspoken on social media, I also work diligently behind the scenes, using every spare moment I have to develop guides, websites, tips, videos, presentations, and events. You name it!

There’s so much to share with all of you, that I keep forgetting about the heart-work, the soul-food, the real spark behind my passion. It’s always inside me, with the rhythm of my own heartbeat, but it’s a vital part of my calling.

Well, next week, more of my dreams come true. And I owe it to all of you to share how much this means to me. It is so awe-inspiring, it doesn’t even feel real. To share the adventure, I’ll blog my travels on social media. But I’ll also direct my eyes toward the stars. Open my heart to the world. Let my soul listen hard.

As I sit here, trying to convey my surprise at how far I’ve come, let me tell you something. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you can change your life. A few years can make a world of difference. A few bold moves can change your entire universe. You can transform your path, if you believe in yourself.

There’s a song that reminds me of all of you when I hear it play on the radio. Especially the chasers. The dreamers. The lovers of life. I picture the humans who meet me in the dark of night, and my own two feet guiding them to the lights, and then these lyrics sound in the speakers…

“Step into your power.”

Then I cry tears of joy. Our angels have come to guide us. We’ve found one another’s hearts and souls in the dark. And for many of us, our lives are changed forever. Thank you for being a part of this wild adventure.

What a time to be alive!

See you soon, Iceland!