Welcome to azul metzlI
If you’re here reading this, thank you for being here!
I created Azul Metzli as a way to connect to others and “come out” as a creative. I resisted for so long that I could be a creator, because it never came out in the way I was told creativity looked like. I suck at painting and am not a natural drawer by far. I also can’t sing like a nightingale. I can dance forever but have never mastered a particular style. Up until recently, I considered myself far from being a creative and instead leaned on what I was celebrated as - filling out expectations by going to college and following that career path. I’ve been comfortable working in the shadows because 1) I wasn’t confident enough in myself to believe I had something worth offering and 2) I was still exploring/experimenting. I will always be an explorer, but I have come to terms with the fact that the lessons of the last decade of my life resulted in valuable information. Information that I would like to pass on to others that may ask for it.
Why travel? Well, I didn’t know how integral traveling to different places and meeting people from all walks of life was important to me until I was given the chance to go abroad. As a Black, Mexican America growing up near the border, taking vacations maybe looked like sporadic family trip to Mexico. And even those were limited or always to the same place (looking at you Puerto Peñasco!). Family cruises in the summer or skiing in a nice resort in Aspen? Forget about it. By the time I was 16, I only knew the East side of my city, some parts in Northern Mexico and one visit to the capitol of Texas, Austin, for a school trip.
I was well taken care of and comfortable in my life but I craved adventure. And since I couldn’t live it, I created my own world. Inspired by an older cousin, I took to writing and wrote out an entire story of myself as a wizard elf (yeah, I know). My character’s special powers was the ability to bend nature to her will. She could make a tree sprout from the ground with the snap of her fingers, or bend water (thanks for the inspo Avatar) as well as heal. I named her Alexis Bluemoon. Writing her story made me fly, I could finally travel to remote places and go on all the adventures I was craving.
I grew up, and as such set aside my child-like ways and ended up moving to Austin for college and as a junior, got the chance to study abroad for a summer semester in London, UK. I was 20, going on 21. That was the beginning of it all. My experience in London electrified me, and without being conscious about it - I started to live out Alexis’s adeventure for myself. Since then I’ve lived in 6 cities, and managed to return to the UK to live.
I came across my preteen story after living 10 years on the go, and it almost shocked me to see the parallels between my younger self’s character and my actual life. I had managed to make it happen.
One thing I hadn’t written though, was all the trials and tribulations that I would endure along my journey, with no tools with how to navigate them. What I hadn’t written about was how lost I felt in my life’s purpose and how traveling served as both a healing mechanism but also escapism. While I had to learn through trial and error, I’ve gained valuable insights. I’ve met wonderous people on my journeys that have shared their wisdom. I think we’re all here to learn from each other, the yin and yang of a student and a teacher.
Now at a different stage of my life, I’m ready to continue exploring, but this time, alongside others, with others. I’m ready to explore with you, of discovering what makes you, you. I’ve learned that traveling within is just as rich as traveling without and that we’re here to play!
Welcome.
