The first time I thought about global travel seriously, I was 23 years old. I’d been out of college for about a year, and I was struggling to think about what my next steps would be. It was 2008 and this thing called a “recession” was just starting to pick up. The news was filled with stories of people losing their jobs, and their homes, and it looked like my newly earned degree in Communications wouldn’t stand a chance in a situation so bleak.
Escaping the country sounded good, but how exactly could I make this happen?
At the time, I had no real idea of how to pursue my interest in travel. I’d gathered some library books about far-flung destinations, and every now and then I’d come across a travel blog. But this was long before the days when taking a “gap year” looked like something that was accessible to people of color, and people for whom having their trip bank-rolled by their parents was not an option.
So, I did what most of my millennial peers did: found a job (any job!) and chugged along. I moved to New York City, and over the years I built a career as a communications manager and brand strategist.
But the urge to travel never left me!
Could I Really Make It Happen?
When I was dramatically laid off in 2017 (you can read that story here!), the wheels started turning. By 2017 there were more women traveling solo, more black Americans spreading the joy of our melanin around the globe, and I finally saw how I could make it happen.
I found another job, and I soon made it my goal to save as much money as I possibly could. I stayed in my apartment that I had long outgrown, only had one drink at happy hour, and kept a post-it note next to my desk in my room where I would cross off each month that I made it through on my countdown to the day when I would ‘release the job, release the stress, release the time, and forget the rest!’
*okay, this was clearly before Beyonce released “Break My Soul,” but hey! You get where I’m going with this.
One of the biggest things that propelled me forward was finding community. I joined Facebook groups for women travelers, searched Instagram for pictures and stories from women and millennials who were doing something that remotely looked like I wanted to do, and I started to sense that my dream of long-term travel was within my grasp.
I’m OUT!
And just like that, I quit. Well, not just like that. But after about 10 months of paying off debt, focused saving, and dedicated research, I hit my goal. I still remember the date: October 18, 2018. I walked out of my office for the last time and into the night air that felt electric with possibility.
At the end of 2018, I left NYC, and by February of 2019, I was headed to Cartagena, Colombia on what would be the first stop in nine countries of travel that spanned two continents.
I want to share more pieces of this story because I consider it to be a broader mission of The Fab Life Project to help millennials reimagine how they can pursue their dreams, and for many people (my kind of peeps, obvi!) travel is a BIG dream.
Stay tuned!
P.S. Curious about how you can take a travel break and elevate your career at the same time? I got you! My new workshop is all about helping people do this. Check it out!
