About

Who is Syd?

My name is Sydney, but please feel free to call me Syd. I was born April 20th, 1998 in Boston, Massachusetts right on Marathon Monday. I grew up in a lovely, rural, middle class neighborhood with my parents and my sister. My dad taught me two things from a very young age: how to be a hard worker and to spend money on experiences rather than things. That was a hard concept for me to grasp as a child but as I got older I completely understood.

I was not in a good place toward the end of my high school career. My mental health had been steadily declining, probably since the time I started high school, and my parents were getting a divorce. Add that on top of random (and now resolved) drama with friends and you have one struggling teenager. I had a hard time seeing a purpose in life at the time most people my age were planning out the rest of their lives. I had no hopes, no ambitions, and no plans for the future. After graduation, I flew out to Canada to visit my long distance best friend with the idea that it might be my final hoo-rah. However, something sparked in me during that flight.

As I sat in my middle seat, after spending the last few minutes convincing the flight attendant that I was in fact old enough to sit in the emergency exit row, what I was doing started to sink in. I had flown many times before, but this time was different. I had no family with me guiding me along. I had no one to tell me I couldn’t spend money on overpriced airport food. I had no one to tell me I couldn’t consume my first legal beverage at 18 (it was some sort of fruity shot in case you wanted to know). I had all the power. More importantly than that, I had freedom. From that trip forward I had a new outlook on life. I wanted to go to as many places, have as many adventures, and make as many friends as I could.