Just like plenty of other middle school girls, Lyndsay Green loved magazines.

The Mount Vernon, New York, native didn’t read the stories all that much; she just loved to feel the pages turn. She watched in awe as the photos, the models, and the beauty products all passed through her fingertips in a flurry of color and long legs.

Green’s devotion to her monthlies didn’t totally spawn from her own whim. Sometimes, when she and her father took a trip to the movies or went out to dinner, they would spend their wait time in the nearest Barnes & Noble, exploring the rows of books and magazines.

In place of a headboard above her bed, she amassed an entire wall of magazines, marking her love for them unlike that of other middle school girls.

Years later, a deacon at Green’s church working as a Penn State recruiter handed her an application and told her to give it a chance. She applied, was accepted, and started her college career at Penn State Altoona.

After three semesters at the campus, she went to study abroad in Madrid. Green still remembers moments from the trip that ignited her love for travel and reminded her of her childhood dreams.

“When I was younger, for some reason, I was really into reading books about the Holocaust. I remember reading Anne Frank’s diary and I remember thinking like ‘Oh, the Netherlands, that seems so far away, I could never get to a place like that.’ It just seemed so far out of my reach, it was like this other world,” she said. “When I studied abroad, I got to go to Amsterdam and I got to visit the Anne Frank House. That moment was just like, here I was in Mt. Vernon, this little suburb in New York that most people probably haven’t even heard of, and I made it to Amsterdam. For me, it was sort of monumental to feel like you can go anywhere — all it is is a plane ride away.”

Green transferred to University Park after her semester abroad and fueled her growing passion for writing at Valley Magazine. She graduated in 2010 with degrees in print journalism, international studies, and a minor in Spanish. Following graduation, Green dove head first into the work force and landed an internship as a fashion and beauty blogger.

In September 2010, she accepted an internship with Ebony Magazine, where she stayed for two years before moving on to People StyleWatch Magazine, Glamour Magazine‘s quarterly publication Glam Belleza Latina, and Teen Vogue, where she served as digital beauty editor. Eventually, she decided to take a step back and do freelance work with publications like Marie Claire, Travel and Leisure, Refinery 29, and Allure.

Six years after graduation, though, Green was still thinking about traveling abroad. Although she spent some time in the industry she loved, she realized the dream job she was waiting for wasn’t going to be handed to her.

“The role to combine beauty and travel magazines didn’t exist…so my plan was that I would work at traditional magazines and I would keep my beat on international subjects if I could. My hope was that eventually when Travel and Leisure or Condé Nast Traveler would create a beauty department, they would tap me as the editor. That never happened, because they still don’t have beauty departments at these magazines,” she said. “When I left, I decided that I could continue to work at these traditional magazines in hopes that they would create my dream position or I could stop wasting time and create it myself.”

In the summer of 2016, Green created Beauty Atlas Magazine, which combines her love for beauty and travel. The completely digital, subscription-free magazine is released on a biannual basis. Each issue focuses on a different international city.

“I go to these cities and I will just speak to women and talk to them about their beauty secrets,” Green said. “It’s sort of just exploring the culture of beauty in the region they live in.”

Green says that her magazine’s mission is two-fold, allowing readers to experience culture in a a new way.

“Part of it is for women who travel on business, or on a honeymoon, or just go on a girl’s trip or vacation. There’s this service element that allows them to find places for beauty treatments, whether it’s a last-minute nail appointment or a massage with the girls. It’s service-driven for them to find the resources they need to get these beauty services. The other piece of that it just exploring beauty traditions that have been passed down for generations,” she said.

The Beauty Atlas website also features a blog, which allows Green and her team to create daily content that taps every region of the world and drive traffic to the magazine.

Beauty Atlas‘ first birthday is approaching, and as it is, Green continues to reflect on her journey — and can still remember when Beauty Atlas was just an idea.

“I think whatever your passion is, whatever gets you excited, whatever you’re daydreaming about at your day job or in class, take little steps towards that. For a long time, Beauty Atlas was just in my head. As much as I wanted to do it, I never was putting it out there,” she said. “Everything sort of came together at the right time and I’ve been fortunate that it’s not too late. I do think that…if you take steps towards putting your passion project out there, it will blossom into a full-time career. There’s no doubt in my mind that you can turn a dream into something big.”