In this section, empowered women from around the world show us how they work to achieve their dreams and what it means to be a woman in today’s society.

There are as many interesting stories as there are people in the world. We are all different people with unique dreams trying to make them happen. Some people dream of a professional career, while others dream of material things. Other people might dream of money or even of starting a family. But the case of Lara Scheidegger is something out of the ordinary.

Since Lara was little, she knew that her life passion was to travel and see the world. With a Master's Degree in International Tourism Management from Ostelea Tourism Management School completed in Barcelona, ​​Spain, and more than 35 countries visited around the world, she has found her home in Belgium. But residing in Belgium is not synonymous with stopping her traveling. She could never get tired of interacting with other cultures. Among many anecdotes, Lara told us that her favorite stone is the Opal, thanks to an exotic trip to India. Read on and discover the peculiar life of this young globetrotter.

1. How do you practice self-care?

“The truth is that I don't take care of myself,” Lara said while laughing. “I normally put on some cream after bathing, and that is all. The only thing that I take good care of is my hair. I don’t enjoy going to the hairdresser; that's why I prefer to take care of my hair myself. I also don't like to cut my hair. In regards to my body, I like to get my nails done at the manicure, my eyelashes, and pour cream on my body.”

2. What does your average day off look like?

“I am super sporty, I like going to the gym,” Lara said. “I also enjoy cooking healthy food as I am a vegetarian. I am currently very interested in everything related to veganism. I also like pastry a lot. I think I do a little of everything on my days off.”

3. How did you get into traveling? Why have you continued to do it?

“I first started to travel across my country with my parents and my brother,” Lara said. “Later, when I grew up, I started taking language courses abroad, and at the age of 17, I went to England for three months. There I started traveling, I saw different places that were not my country, and I was interested in how life was in other nations. I currently live in Europe, and it is much more accessible to travel. You can do it by car, by plane, or by train. Flights are super cheap to visit any other country in Europe, but it depends on where you live. Some countries are cheaper to go to or more expensive. Traveling is something that no one will ever stop doing. Everyone likes to travel, and that is good because that makes you meet other people, other cultures, and other languages.”

4. Which advice would you give to yourself when you were younger?

“I will tell myself to enjoy,” Lara said, convinced. “Life is just a moment, and we are born to die, so we have to enjoy it to the fullest. When I say to the fullest, I mean with the people we have next to us, with those around us. I enjoy being with my family because I already live far away from them, so it's a bit hard. Having a person by your side who is encouraging you, despite the bad days, is something we have to learn to enjoy. Everything is alright. I believe that life is made to be enjoyed”

5. What is your favorite jewelry from our website, and why?

“The Opalite Collection!,” Lara exclaimed excitedly. “The truth is that they are all beautiful, but the opalite gem was the first thing I saw, and I loved it. I also have an interesting story about opalite when I made a trip to India. I don't know if you knew, but it is not easy to find the Opal stone anywhere. Anyways, when I was traveling in India, a Hindu person read my hands and told me this: "Your lucky stone is the opal. You need to find a ring that has an opal stone, and you have to wear it on the finger of this hand.” I still do not forget that anecdote because I was astonished. After that experience, I tried very hard to find an opalite jewel, and let me tell you that it was very difficult. When I saw the Island by Koa Nani Opalite Collection on the website I thought "that gem is mine."

If you want to know more about Lara Scheidegger’s world, you can reach her at @lascheidegger. Thank you so much Lara from Island by Koa Nani Team!