Although it has affected almost every aspect of my day to day life, quitting my job and traveling is something I seldom talk about. I’m not one for dramatic posts or anything of that nature; I much prefer hiding behind my safe comedic shell that I’ve grown so comfortable in all my life. But the problem with that is I didn’t just quit my job and travel for the lols. So quippy response to those of you who have asked about my life situation has left me frustrated with myself - because there is so much more I want to say but I just don’t know how.

Let’s rewind!

I’ve told myself “it’s okay, it’s fine, just get through it, life will be better after __ for my entire life. Whether it was high school, college, a bad week, a bad month, a bad year, it was always my mindset to say to myself “after X is over, you can finally be happy” Turns out I making plans for a future which I would never be able to enjoy. I always was living for some future that simply didn’t exist. Even after the amount of times I’ve told myself, “after THIS hardship, life will be great and you will have obtained SUCCESS and HAPPINESS” I never did. Some relief? Perhaps. Success? Maybe to some. But happy, no.

Upon realizing I was setting myself up for lifelong discontentment, I went through an extremely transformative phase. I had to unlearn a lot of unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors. But for the first time since I was a child I can look in the mirror and feel love for myself. My growth has not been linear, but I felt like the universe gave me the loving guidance that I needed and didn’t even know I was looking for.

I can’t exactly explain how I got the push to change my life. To be honest, it might be impossible. I trust that I’m put on this path of growth by unfathomable forces. But finding the peace, the simple “being” in the present moment is what’s real and I haven’t been wishing my life away since. Sounds a lot easier than it is though.

Now what does this have to do with traveling? Welp I’m treating my life as a game now. I’m aware that kind of sounds a tad bit loopy, so let me explain. My life before was a laundry list of goals that I was convinced would lead me to the ultimate Success. All the things I did in my past were part of a larger plan that would make me FINALLY be Happy™. Clearly that wasn’t working out for me, so I decided to quit and travel for the following reasons: 1) because I wanted to and 2) because I was bored. Doing something without a big ”end goal” is liberating!!!!

I will end with this: It is my wish for all of you to do things so you remember who you are and trust your heart. When something doesn’t feel right in your life, I pray you dig deep and find the inspiration to change it. Never, ever forget to dream. Remember: we’re in this together, life is short but insanely special, and my hand is always there to hold ❣️