The Herald sat with Ebony Walden, Hempstead native and author memoir of “Where I’m From” she reflects on an eight-month journey around the world that began in 2010, when she set out to travel solo for the first time and volunteer in schools, community centers and orphanages across five continents. With limited financial means, she raised about $23,000 by asking 150 people to contribute $150 each. The experience reshaped her understanding of independence, teaching her the importance of empathy, human connection and community. Through stories of her travels and a collaborative poem she created with people she met along the way, she hopes to inspire others to pursue ambitious goals, regardless of where they come from. She brought her story back home in Uniondale to share with the community.
Q: What do you hope people get from your memoir?
A: Well, one, I hope you’re inspired. This was a 20-day trip I decided to take around the world. I had never solo traveled before. So ultimately, I feel like I want people to be inspired. If you have an hair-raising audacious goal, that you can go after it. I grew up here. I didn’t have a whole lot of means. But I was able to go around the world. And since then, I’ve been to 50 countries and all 50 states. And had an opportunity to write about it. I also have a travel documentary series.
Q: Do you think you changed when you went on this journey?
A: Of course, how can you not change? If I were to, in retrospect — I got to be ambitious, I got to be successful. I’m type A. I’m going to plan. I’m going to make things happen for myself. It’s kind of like one side of your brain is structured. And I think traveling the world really helped me realize, there’s a whole other side of being human about compassion, about empathy, about connection, about using your intuition, being present with people, being mindful. Before I left, I would say I was about independence, I could do it myself. When I came back, I was like one of the lessons is people are better than no people. It’s not necessarily about doing it yourself, but it’s about love and connection and community. I think the trip helped me with my deep dive into the fullness of being human. You plan, and then you show up, and then you’ve got to work with the uncertainty.
Q: Were you nervous to travel?
A: Yeah, so I don’t know why I wasn’t nervous. I just felt called to do this trip. I felt like this was what I was supposed to do. I was nervous in the sense of a little bit anxious, but excited. I volunteered around the world. I was nervous in the sense of a little bit anxious, but excited. But that wasn’t going to stop me from doing a trip.
Q: Was your entire trip about volunteering?
A: I was gone for eight months. For about five of those months, I volunteered in schools, community centers, and orphanages. The first three months of my travel was volunteering, I had a host family, a volunteer organization. So that was the first three months of my trip. Then I went backpacking through Europe after I volunteered in Kenya, South Africa, India, Thailand, then I kind of backpacked the rest of my trip through China, Japan, and Australia.
Q: How did you afford to travel?
A: Oh, I fundraise. I had some money on my own, but I asked 150 people to give me $150. At that time, it was 2010, a world trip cost about $30,000. I had researched and planned, I had this master spreadsheet, and then I said, okay, if I sell everything I own and my savings, I have about seven, where do I get $23,000 from real quick? I said, okay, if I ask 150 people I know for $150, then I’ll have, around $23,000. So that’s what I did. I raised that in four months, and I was on a trip.
Q: Was it the norm for people of color not to travel?
A: I just don’t think anybody was really traveling. Like now, people travel all the time. But when I was going, it really wasn’t a thing for anybody and definitely not for Black people, because traveling is about having means. I tell people, I see Black people everywhere I travel now, but when I was traveling, I went to 17 countries and five continents. I think I met seven other Black travelers.
Q: What did you do when you volunteered?
A: I volunteered in schools, community centers, and orphanages. Teaching English in schools, community centers, just kind of help out kids with homework in orphanages, just helping the kids with homework and food and just caring for their like daily needs, being a trusted adult.
Q: What does the title ‘Where I’m From’ mean?
A: It’s called ‘Where I’m From’ because I do a poem with people called Where I’m From. And then as you travel throughout the book, you also learn where I’m from. This is a key part. It’s a poem about, where’d you grow up, phrases from growing up, your family, your heartbreaks, your joys, your tragedies, music. I took this poem with me around the world and I co-created it with the people.
