About How Dare She
Hi, I’m Jessica. You may have already figured that out. I am collecting countries. Every country. What about North Korea? Yeah, there too, it’s a country. And all those “scary” places in the Middle East? Countries? Yup. How dare she! There have been several, many in fact, men who have gone around collecting countries. They are badasses in their own right and I’m impressed by each and every one of them. But it is noticeable how few women have attempted such a feat. Why? Well, some women aren’t into travel. Some countries aren’t into women traveling (see: Saudi Arabia). But I think more often women are, and in many ways should be, more apprehensive about solo travel due to the potential risks in addition to having a higher tendency to want to share experiences with someone. So they wait until they have the right boyfriend or husband or girlfriend or wife to go along with. But once they’ve found that person, they start thinking about the life they want to build, the house they want to build it in, and the children they want to fill it with, and travel becomes a shelved dream, to be dusted off in retirement.
What is How Dare She?
“I could never” to “I can’t wait!” I started How Dare She as the project to collect all these countries, and share those experiences back with the world. I have noticed how few Americans travel and any discussions of upcoming trips are often met with surprise. “You’re going where? By yourself? Aren’t you scared? They have….[insert list of scary things likely perpetuated by media]!! I could never!” I personally hate extremes like “never” (and especially “impossible”). I hope to challenge people who feel that way about travel to understand what their obstacles are, and how to overcome them. There are a lot of reasons to be apprehensive of travel, especially if you stick to the Fox News cycle, but I see those as considerations to take, not reasons to skip. So How Dare She is not just about me going to every country in the world, but bringing you along with me. I want to explore the challenges (be they financial, health, cultural, and especially gender-based) to see and show how to get around or over them, to reap the benefit all over the world. I want the “I could never“s to turn into “I can’t wait!“s.
Work with How Dare She
I am always happy to work with brands that share How Dare She core values. Find more information on the Work with Me page.
You want to contribute? Yes, please!
Buy me a coffee (beer)? I won’t turn it down. How? My personal favorite is Square Cash (cashtag $howdareshe), but Paypal works great too. Just make sure I know who contributed and have an email address to thank you!.
Thank you
How Dare She is possible thanks to the contributions of so many people supporting this attempt to collect every country in the world. I’m beyond grateful for their support and hope that each and every one knows that they are a part of this. You will find thanks to them in the credits of each video as well, but they will remain here in gratitude.
First and foremost big thank yous to Janet Protonentis and Jonathan Elliott. Not only have they supported this wild idea, but have raised me with the spirit that it will take to accomplish it and have helped with countless things that are just easier done by someone in the country.
Next, a huge thank you to Mike Graziano and Global Degree. It was Global Degree that inspired me to take the leap and figure this whole thing out. Mike, Alex and Natalia are also out traveling, providing continuous injections of inspiration to myself and many others.
Chris & Kristine Laping | Mark Allan | LeAnne Stine |
Cathy Cooney | Chris Shumaker | Denny Post |
Jeff Melnick | Amanda Busby | Jason Rusk |
Rob Plumbley | Brian Murray | Dad |
Shawna Jones | Don Dalton | Jenn Rivas |
Amy Jones | Shay Carver | Ted Watson |
Diana Jonkman | Evan Eakin | Chris Echelmeier |
Susan Feichter | MsMeno | Amy Roth |
Andy Mulz | Mike Dunmire | Donna Houseworth |
Michael Cox | Matthew Elliott | Ted Watson |
Mo Morrill | Al Hansen | Kirsten Cummins |
Teri Lowery | Kelly Piuma | Lou Tsourovakas |
Deena DePhilips | Krystal Bittner | Beth Elliott |
Todd Madlener | Karin | Gina Fielding |
Jason Whitner | Dave Batton | Dan Green |
Mike Doss | Chuck Shuptrine | Ann Servatius |
Terrell Lewis | Kali Hullsiek | Peter Owens |
Mike and Jenny Rucki | Rob McGough | Mike Borcherding |
Dan Kubik | Erik Andersen | Abbie Prince |
David Elliott | Jessica McCleave | Katie McKinnon |
Michelle Dacyk | The Park Family | Jaime Benson |
Heidi Eikenhorst | Andy Somers | Nicole Jones |
Cori Garcia | Allen Tong | Rob Hawley |
Gemma Lynn | Kara Lisa Scott | Kara Anderson |
Cassie LaBonte | Patrick Stone | Lisa Czarneki |
Ben Carter | Darian Cannard | Jen Cerami |
Katie and Michael McKinnon and Benchmark Auto Salon |
Jennie McMurty and Global Love Fund |
Ashley and Aaron Wheeler |
Darin & Christine Dempsey |
Tom Wong
August 11, 2015 at 5:00 pmWould like to follow your travels.
jess
August 18, 2015 at 11:39 pmThanks Tom! If you’re on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/howdareshetravel is probably the best place! And, of course, here. Cheers!
Rychele
September 7, 2015 at 6:50 amHi there!
I really enjoy reading about your travels. I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Award on my blog. I look forward to reading your responses 🙂
https://seasaltnlemon.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/liebster-award/
Todd
March 27, 2019 at 7:48 amI am jealous of your trendy travel map. Would love to have one made for my self…
jess
March 27, 2019 at 8:49 amThanks. I didn’t like all the automated ones, so I learned how to make one myself more in my style 🙂