Kimberly standing on a rock looking out to mountains (Kimberly Kephart)

Stars and Stripes Europe is proud of the amazing travel, lifestyle and community stories we can share with the community. However, we don’t do it alone. We have partnered with individuals and organizations across Europe and the world to help bring you the widest variety of voices and perspectives we can.

We recently decided to start highlighting some of the most recurring contributing writers on our team. Kimberly Kephart, of Kimberly Kephart Travels, has written over 20 articles for the Stripes Europe website. She is a travel blogger currently stationed in Vicenza, Italy and writes many articles that help better connect our readers to the Polish and Italian areas they may be visiting or stationed in.

Recently, I had the chance to talk with Kimberly about her life as a travel blogger and why she not only travel blogs but also chooses to write for Stars and Stripes Europe. For the past seven years, she has lived overseas in Poland, Korea and Italy.

She is inspired to travel and write by her own curiosity as well as by several books including Rick Steves’ “Travel is a Political Act” and Anne Applebaum’s “Between East and West.” Writing is “really cathartic” for Kimberly, even though she used to not like it and struggled to get into it. However, while in Korea, she discovered that writing was a “great form of expression and relief” for her. She also had a mentor that encouraged her to share her stories.

When asked why she decided to partner with Stars and Stripes Europe, she happily exclaimed, “Oh my gosh Stars and Stripes has been a part of my life since I was a little girl” and she was thrilled for the opportunity to work with a brand that she recognized. She knew working with Stars and Stripes Europe was where she could “impact [her] community most.”

For those thinking about starting a travel blog or travel journal, Kimberly advises people to “just do it,” espousing that there are many important voices out there and yours could be among them. She ended with “it’s never too late to start.”

Click here to read some of Kimberly’s stories for Stars and Stripes Europe. Also, you can check out her blog, Kimberly Kephart Travels.

For more about Kimberly’s writing journey and some travel stories where she “felt in over [her] head” watch the attached video.