Hey Ciara

View Original

I QUIT MY JOB TO TRAVEL FULL-TIME

I DID IT! This past Friday, I quit my corporate HR job to travel full-time. 

Saturday, I moved out of my apartment.

Sunday, I (over)packed my brand new backpack. 

Monday, I hopped on a flight to Mexico with a one-way ticket 

Over the next 3 months, I plan to backpack throughout Central America and make my way to South America - sharing those experiences(via photo, video, and writing) with you all along the way.

I am currently on the beach in Tulum, Mexico drinking a Pina Colada and celebrating such a big life change! Also, totally crying all over my tacos.

Why?...because this wasn't an easy decision. I spent 2 years MISERABLE in a job that I started after graduating from college. I spent the last year questioning whether or not I should quit to travel & blog full time.

While I was SO grateful to be making money, I dreaded showing up to the same grey cubicle everyday and doing the same exact thing over & over again, day in & day out. I was physically at work, but my mind was always elsewhere. 

My best-friend and I would often call each-other up to talk about life and the conversations would always sound like, "This is it? This can't be all there is. This can't be the 'adult' life that we all strived for. Why didn't anybody warn us?" It all felt so robotic and I eventually grew numb to the cycle of every-day life. 

-

Along the way, I continued to travel as I could and blog after work. That was the ONLY thing I looked forward to - traveling and encouraging others to do the same. So, I saved up for the inevitable.

I was so conflicted about whether I should leave such a "good" and "normal" lifestyle behind for something so unconventional. "Maybe I'm just not grateful enough?", I thought. Then my right mind would kick in and tell me that there had to be another way. 

And of course my right mind was....well, right. I couldn't do it. So, I continued to save a portion of every paycheck I received. Every bonus. I cut out all extra expenses. I stopped eating out. I stopped shopping. I wanted to use any extra income I had to fund my dream.

And, It is SUCH a privilege to be able to dream. Many people are merely trying to survive...that's all they can do. However, I know that I have a huge amount of privilege as a first world, college educated woman in the US. I know that I am doing a disservice to myself and the world if I don't take advantage of that privilege. I am doing a disservice to those that only wish they had the ability to follow their dreams.

So here I am. I don't know what life will be like in the next year or the next 5 months but I'm happy knowing that I'm taking steps towards the directions of my dreams.

Travel helped me take the leap. Travel has constantly pushed me outside of my comfort zone, reminded me that everything will be okay in the end, and shown me that the world truly is our oyster.

Disclaimer: I posted this 3 months ago on my Facebook page. However, I never got around to posting it on here. Now it's up!

(Oh, and I've now completed my stint through Central & South America. 3 months later, I can say that making this change was the best decision I've made.)


What Now? 

More content & better content. I am focused on creating content(blogs, videos, articles, instagrams, etc.) full time to continue inspiring the wanderlust in you.

So, here what I need from you to keep going:

If you like a post, please comment and/or share it. All engagement helps! It will be nearly impossible for me to continue doing this without your engagement. In return, I will give you the my best travel content. 

Enjoy!