Ten years ago, I first started traveling on my own. I was a naive college student who thought she knew things about the world but had very little real-life experience. Eight years ago, I set up this blog without thinking it could become my passion and future career.
Six years ago, I went to live in Australia. Today, I turn 28 years old. It’s the first birthday in about a decade that I haven’t spent in a cold trade show building selling people things. And I’ve been writing these posts for seven years! (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
This year has been a turning point made up of many small moments and decisions. I decided to leave my seasonal job, apart from a two-week stint this summer, and focus solely on writing. It was no longer making me happy and I no longer felt it was worth the money when it meant I didn’t have time to write or travel.
This decision freed up my schedule and allowed me to go places like the Dominican Republic (twice!), San Antonio, and two weeks out west. I also felt confident enough to pitch some big publications like BBC Travel and took on more regular work. I also felt much happier having flexibility and the ability to say no to a trip. It rarely happened, but I didn’t feel like I had to cram everything in since I didn’t know the next time I’d have free days to return.
Last year’s goals were somewhat realistic, but the vast majority went unchecked. I didn’t move out of my parent’s house (#1), but I am currently looking to buy my first house here in Atlanta. Couchsurfers welcome when I get settled in! I mostly quit my backup jobs (#2), but agreed to work two trade shows, in Las Vegas and New York, for a week each this summer.
After that, I’m done. I mostly agreed because I knew I would need the money at some point and who doesn’t want to have your boss pay for a trip to Vegas? I definitely saw more of the United States (#3) this year, including new states Colorado, Wyoming and Montana (if you count West Yellowstone…).
I returned for trips to New York, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Internationally, I crossed the Dominican Republic off my list and returned to England to catch up with some of my favorite blogger pals.
If you follow me on Instagram you might notice that I’ve succeeded in taking more selfies (#8) and feeling more comfortable in front of the camera. I won’t be turning into a fashion blogger anytime soon, though! I didn’t pitch a new story every month (#10) but instead I went through periods where I would pitch multiple stories in a matter of days but not do it again for a month or more.
I’m happy to say that I found a workout I enjoy (#11) in rowing and swimming and essentially gave up running. My foot still doesn’t bend like it used to pre-surgery and I no longer enjoyed it. I’ve also been fairly good at being a joiner (#13), signing up for meetups with my local press club, my college alumni group, and even took an HTML course.
I took one big fun trip (#15) that I didn’t work during, which was much more enjoyable than trying to multitask, but I hope to do more of this in the coming year. And last, but most importantly, I am spending my birthday somewhere fabulous (#28). It’s not the Mediterranean or other places I’d thought about this time last year, but instead I’ll be in Georgia wine country with some of my closest friends. Not too shabby!
This year’s goals are specifically set to better myself. I want to spend more time at home and find more balance.
1. Set more reasonable standards. I hold people, especially my friends, to a high standard and sometimes expect certain behaviors. This sets them up to fail and disappointment for me. After reading Brené Brown’s Rising Strong, which I highly recommend, I’ve learned to give people the benefit of the doubt that they’re doing the best they can.
2. Learn more about the technical skills necessary to make this blog operate. I took an introductory HTML and CSS course in college and a refresher course recently at General Assembly, one of the leaders in technical education. I’m also looking at the Google Analytics course, which I think would help me run this site better.
3. Become a mentor. There are so many people that have helped me along the way in large and small ways. Some don’t even know the impact they’ve had on me. So I want to do what I can to help aspiring writers starting with my friend Leigh’s website. I’ve been paired with a student from Bangladesh and can’t wait to read her work.
4. Find more work-life balance. Since I work for myself, I have trouble setting work boundaries at home. I might stay up in bed working until midnight without thinking anything of it and usually work on weekends. I want to be able to set specific times and I’m hoping that a new workspace could help with this.
5. Go on more trips where I don’t work. Most of my travels are for press trips, but occasionally I do go on trips for fun. I’d like to do more of these where I don’t have to worry about getting work done and spend more quality time with my friends and family.
6. Read the books I skimmed in school. I’m an avid reader but because of that lack of work-life balance, I haven’t read as many as I’d like to. I want to go back to the classics that I never finished reading in school this year.
7. Brush up on my languages. I took Spanish all through high school but forgot most of it before I started college. Instead, I started French before abandoning it in favor of Italian. That doesn’t seem to have stuck either. After going to the Dominican Republic, I started re-learning on DuoLingo. I highly recommend it!
8. Visit at least five new states in an effort to get to all 50 before age 30. I’m not actually that close with two years left to go at 22 states to cross off. I’ve currently got the Pacific Northwest on the mind along with Utah.
9. Work on my book. I am now comfortable sharing that I am working on something that could turn into a book about my year in Australia. I’ve written an outline and started a few chapters but really need to spend some time on it away from it all. A creative retreat, perhaps?
10. Get outside more. A byproduct of being self-employed is that I spend a lot of time indoors. The little time I get out is when I check the mail or the hour I spend throwing the ball with my dog. I also spend the occasional Saturday renting a paddleboard on the river but wish I did it more frequently.
11. Become more confident in public speaking. My few speaking engagements in the last year were stressful and even at the small, monthly Travel Massive events I organize, I find myself stumbling over my words. I used to do this sort of thing all the time but am out of practice.
12. Eat vegan/vegetarian at home. I already don’t eat dairy, so meat wouldn’t be that much more to give up. I hardly eat it when I cook for myself. I would, however, let myself eat meat while at restaurants and on trips. For me, it’s less about not eating meat and more about limiting my carbon footprint. The only thing hard for me to give up might be eggs, one of my major food groups.
13. Start going to sleep earlier. I set my own schedule and that means I stay up late working, but it still might take me an hour to finally fall asleep and turn my mind off. The earlier I go to sleep, the sooner I’ll fall asleep.
14. Become an active part of professional organizations. I spent the last year on the board of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association and am proud of the work that I did, but now that my term is over, I still want to contribute. I also joined the Society of American Travel Writers but haven’t yet gotten involved. I hope to attend an upcoming Freelance Council meeting to network with fellow writers.
15. Wash my face every day. How is this so difficult for me? My skin problems would be so much better if I’d take this one easy step.
16. Don’t take on more than I can handle. I have trouble saying no to work and opportunities because I’m afraid they won’t arise again. This is what led to two back to back trips this year, which was so exhausting. I also took on two major writing assignments a few days before I left to go out west. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, especially when the work and pay are too good to pass up, but sometimes I need to choose my mental stability over trips.
17. Keep a zero balance on my credit cards as much as possible. I originally signed up for a credit card so that I could pay for flights and get points for it, even if I had the money to pay for it, but I’ve been carrying a balance, albeit a small one in the scheme of things. It’s just too much of a slippery slope to the point where I forget to pay it off for months at a time. I’m trying to build credit!
18. Stop comparing. There’s a reason they say “comparison is the thief of joy.” Looking at other people’s lives and wondering why mine isn’t the same, whether it’s work accomplishments, relationships or living situations, is not at all healthy. I’m sure other people do the same to my life. Not everything is as perfect as it looks on Instagram, so it’s time to be happy with what I have.
19. Travel slower. Breakneck pace on trips has never suited me so I want next year’s trips to be slower and in one place. I always get a more local experience that way, especially when it comes to staying in an apartment over a nondescript hotel room. I can even cook my own meals and set up an office anywhere I go.
20. Embrace more brand partnerships and the like. This year, I had my first sponsored campaign with a hotel chain that paid me for my work rather than just covering my stay. I’d like to do more things like this where I can put my skills of blogging and social media to use. I do very little and only choose partnerships appropriate for my brand.
21. Build up my social media following. As much as I find Twitter tedious, I can’t deny that social media is an important aspect of being both a blogger and a professional of any field. I could also use some help with SEO if you know anybody!
22. Organize my own blogger trips. I think that I could create some unique trips for fellow bloggers, especially in areas I know well that aren’t frequently written up like my hometown of Atlanta.
23. Splurge on business class. I’ve always been too cheap and too much of a backpacker to do anything but the cheapest option, but I’m getting older. I’m ready to look into travel hacking and find a way to do long-haul right. I’ve got some points that should help.
24. Set aside time for social plans. Being an introvert, it’s easy for me to bail on plans. But I should at least once per week schedule time for friends or spending time with other people. As much as I love my dogs, they’re not exactly the same as humans companions.
25. Find a local charity to get involved with. I’m not sure what particular cause I support, but I think I’ll find something that is the right fit.
26. Invest in more quality items instead of cheap ones. I replace items in my wardrobe, specifically black flats, every year, but it would make much more sense to buy better ones that last longer like my Tieks.
27. Be aware of where my money goes. One aspect of responsible travel and living is knowing what companies you give money to do with it. Are they running sweatshops in Asia or overworking their employees? That cheap shirt may have larger ramifications than just its cost.
28. Do something people do when they’re in their twenties. This isn’t to say that all responsibility is piled on at age 30 or that I actually live like a twentysomething currently. I’m mostly thinking about a spontaneous decision or getting another tattoo.
29. Actually follow through with these lists. In case you couldn’t already tell, I am an avid list maker. But I need to actually cross more off!
I’m not even American and I want to see all 50 states before I turn 30. I’m pretty sure I’m at about 22 too, so it could be achievable. But the Pacific Northwest is so beautiful. I want to see more of Oregon when I move back to Vancouver (if Canada lets me in!) Best of luck, Caroline;
Thanks for reading, Hayley! You’ve made good progress!
Happy birthday, Caroline! I love this list, lots of great goals. I know what you mean about work-life balance. Working for myself and working from home makes it way too easy to work at odd times, and even if I don’t work a 40 hour week, it often feels like I’m working even more hours because I spread it out too much and take too many breaks and work in the evenings and weekends. I got a desk this year, and Andy and I set up the guest room as our office so I have a little more separation between work time and non-work time now.
Good luck with your goals for this year!
That’s a good start, Ali! I definitely need a separate space.
Oooh… happy belated birthday, Caroline. What a fabulous list! I’m thrilled that my mentorship program helped you fulfill on of them.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest. Especially can’t wait to hear more information about your book! So exciting!!