No one is born an experienced traveler
My travel blogging journey began on Instagram. I decided to track where I went and what I wore, so I could always look back on my favorite memories and looks. Soon I found I was an experienced traveler, with knowledge that could help others.
I’ve learned that travel in itself isn’t what’s important. What’s important about travel is how you do it, why you do it, and what you can learn from it. Everyone travels a bit differently and you should never compare you adventures to others’. For example, someone more anxious about travel might prefer single location trips and all inclusive hotels. However, someone who loves being culturally immersed might find a backpacking trip through hostels more fulfilling. Neither is right or wrong, and depending on the context I love both. I hope I can guide you to build an adventure that best fits you, your budget, and your schedule.
Be confident
I’ll try to be concise about my past, but I do want to include it here so you’re aware of the perspective I write from. Growing up I was taught that I could do anything and everything I put my mind to. I was also taught to have realistic goals and expectations. Yes I could have become an astronaut. No, I didn’t realistically want to work towards that. Here are a few things I grew up doing that challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and learn something new.
I kept bees with my grandpa for many years, and still occasionally go home to help out. I raced sailboats through high school. I learned the aerodynamics behind airplanes and flew small Cessna planes with my grandfather. I learned how to grow all my own vegetables and herbs, keep an orchard. I’ve built my own furniture and am adept with most power tools. I hem/alter all of my own clothes (a sad necessity when you’re 5’1″ and curvy). I’ve built model train boards. I learned how to use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (see this website). I’ve produced short films and audio shows. I am an award winning artist, mostly in oil and acrylic painting. I sketch when I’m bored. I wouldn’t say I’m a good cook, but I’m an experimental one. Thanks to Binging with Babish, I’m a lot better than I used to be. Thanks to those skills, my roommate and I bake all of our bread from scratch now.
The hobbies above are not sustainable without hard work and a reasonable budget. To sustain all those things I do for fun, I attended UW-Madison and received a BBA with a certificate in Digital Studies, and knowledge around web and program development. I now work for a large Telecom as a business systems analyst in supply chain.
Much of my desire to travel originally stemmed from visiting different neighborhoods of where I grew up: Chicago. I love The Windy City. We have Greektown, Lincoln Square, Pilsen, Chinatown, West Town, Little Italy etc. that are all unique, diverse, and have something to teach. It doesn’t hurt that the food is always amazing. It’s a hugely rewarding experience to be slowly visiting each of the countries that these neighborhoods inherited their culture from.
So far my travels have brought me to the following. It isn’t the longest list you’ll see, but I take my time when I travel and rather have 2-3 immersive trips a year than 30 weekend stop-and-go visits. Also, just because I have traveled to a country, does not mean I feel there is no more to see there. I would happily fly back to any of these countries and adventure some more
Countries I’ve Traveled
As much as I love travel, it’s imperative that we don’t only define ourselves by where we’ve been. Life is about being fulfilled and happy. Not keeping up with the Kardashians. You should become an experienced traveler how you want to, not because someone else did.
Speaking of the Kardashians though, you should know that I also love fashion and have a relatively eclectic closet. It’s new, it’s vintage, and most importantly it’s me. I pack for my trips very purposefully and I hope to help you do the same. I’m the type of person who knows how to pack light and create capsule wardrobes… but I tend to choose to pack so much I’m laying on my suitcase to zip it. Sometimes I even slowly unpack clothes and put them on to meet airline weight limits. We’re all human. I hope you enjoy getting to know me, my travels, my ootd inspiration, and my rather extra personality through this blog. Any and all feedback is welcome!