What Solo Travel Taught Me About the Life I Actually Want
When I was in my early twenties I didn’t even want to travel I was fine being in my little small town in Louisiana. Then I took a trip to Washington when I was 23. The landscape was so beautiful it outshone Louisiana by a million years. I had never seen anything like it in my life. On that trip also reignited my love of photography.
Soon after I moved away from my small town and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I held boundaries, I grew as a person, I learned to think outside of the ideology I grew up with. I moved to San Antonio not long after that and fully engrossed in a different culture. Each time I moved and traveled I grew as a person a little more.
Recently, I look a solo trip to Massachusetts. I road tripped from JFK through Connecticut and over to Massachusetts. It was beautiful. I had never been to the northeast, the river valleys and colorful hills were breathtaking. It was a culture shock to say the least coming from the ultra friendly south. I fell in love with the vibes of coast. The fisherman, lighthouses, the fresh seafood (my fav). All things I couldn’t get back home in landlocked Tennessee. Safe to say it may be my whole new personality trait.
What Solo Travel Taught Me About Personal Growth
During this trip I learned 3 things. First up, I learned I did not want a 9-5 job. At the time I was contemplating getting a remote job in something like project management. I realized that sounds like shackles. I thought to myself “you’re way too creative for that, that has nothing to do with your life dreams” I love to write, travel, photograph, be full of adventure and curiosity. I would much rather get paid to travel, be creative, write, share my experiences. Getting featured in Travel + Leisure, Conde Naste or National Geographic sounds more ideal than a sterile office and overhead lights.
I learned I can do hard things. I had never taken a trip that far alone, let alone in a big city like Boston. (My hometown population is 600 so Boston is HUGE to me) I challenged my self and what I thought was possible and I wasn’t scared. I drove through New York highway and downtown Boston. I figured out a subway and public transportation all on my own. I did have a few stumbles. (Hindsight, get a portable charger and learn the transit system before going). But you know what? It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, I still figured it out.
I learned I quite literally do create my own reality. I had a picture saved on my vision board for years of view in Cape Cod. (turns out it was Martha’s Vineyard, kind of close right?) I’ve looked at it a million times. When the opportunity came to go, I jumped on it. I could have made excuses of reasons not to go, but I didn’t. It wasn’t be best situation ever having to go to Connecticut. I still decided to make lemonade out of lemons. And guess what? The memories I made and the things I got to experience far outweighed any negative aspects of the trip.
I cried in a Cape Cod hotel room
After my day in Boston, I drove over to the cape. I honestly just took in everything I could. And tbh if I could have just stayed in the cape the whole time I might have actually skipped Boston. But I’m glad I got to see it and see so much history. It really is worth the visit.
I woke up that next morning in my hotel in Eastham and just cried. So full of happiness and gratitude, wearing the cutest pj set. The morning and moment truly felt perfect. And that’s when it hit me. This is what I want to do with my life. I want to fully experience all life has to offer. I would rather spend a Tuesday going white water rafting in north Georgia. Or a Monday morning making my own perfume in Nashville. I want to show my kids all the amazing things in the world that I can.
Here I was getting so see this beautiful place, getting ready to go see a lighthouse. It felt unreal, I was in awe. I had never seen a light house before. I came up with the plan that I will figure out anyway possible, but I will make travel and content creation my job. Someway somehow.
The Elle Woods, “What like it’s hard?” moment
I drove home with my head full and my notes app overflowing. By the time I pulled into my driveway I had already started Googling. How do you become a travel blogger. How do you actually get paid for this. How do travel writers get into magazines. It felt completely delusional. I knew that. I did it anyway. This was my Elle Woods, the grind doesn’t stop moment. What like it’s hard?
I rebranded the blog. I did make a travel attempt a year ago see my Savannah post. I built a UGC portfolio from scratch. I started posting consistently (not perfectly) but consistently. I was a little busy doing a full rebrand. I’ve learned is the only version that counts, I’ve been learning what works and what doesn‘t, and some content flopped. My Cape Cod videos didn’t perform the way I hoped, which stung a little given what that trip meant to me. Then I posted something from Louisiana and it took off. And that’s the thing about building something, you don’t always get to control which piece of your story resonates. You just have to keep telling it.
All in this to say, go out and experience everything you can. Say yes to opportunities, you never know what’s on the other side of it that could change your whole outlook and goals in life.