I quit my job to travel the world. Then, I met someone who derailed my plans.

I had plans to travel the world indefinitely, but they were derailed when I fell in love.

Sierra Newell I planned to travel the world indefinitely, but fell in love shortly before heading to Australia.

My partner and I dated long-distance for a while, then decided to try living together for a summer.

I ended up moving to Germany to be with him, and realized I can still have an adventurous lifestyle.

Just weeks after my 28th birthday, I arrived in Burgenland, a wine region south of Vienna, to work at a natural wine domaine.

Fresh off of quitting my full-time job in California, I planned to travel indefinitely, hopping from country to country by way of the wine harvest.

I didn't have the space, nor the desire, to make room for a serious relationship.

Then, I met Lars.

In the sticky August heat, we both arrived on the first morning of harvest at 3 a.m., faceless strangers in the dark.

Lars was gentle and curious, with a thick accent that made some words sound unfamiliar, but all of them endearing.

We picked alongside one another beneath the stars, talking with fervor until the sun rose.

Being near him felt both exhilarating and familiar.

We spent the next several weeks falling in love, but there was one complication: I had plans to move halfway across the world to Australia.

We knew our time together would end, but we fell in love anyway We kept up a long-distance relationship while I was in Australia.