LIFE UPDATE: I quit the 9 – 5 and am now travelling the world!
Wow, okay it’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog post! So much in my life has changed in the past 6 months and I thought a bit of a life update post was in order.
The biggest thing to address would be that I quit my 9-5 job, eeeep!! If you were following me on Instagram throughout my India and Sri Lanka trip (content still to come on this, I promise), I returned home to New Zealand about mid January. It was then that I made the life changing decision to quit my job and follow my dream of travelling the world. It all happened pretty quickly…since I knew travelling the world was something that I wanted to do eventually, I had savings in the bank which allowed me to hand in my resignation and leave the country two months later. I was working in Marketing for a New Zealand business and after spending the past two and a half years there, it felt as though the timing was right to move on. Yes it was a good job and I loved the people who I worked with, but I still wasn’t happy and needed something more. I wanted to work for myself, not for somebody else. I’m the kind of person who constantly needs to be learning and feel challenged otherwise, I get bored. For me right now, that challenge is travelling by myself and trying to be successful as a digital nomad so I can keep travelling the world while making a living (hopefully).
Was it hard leaving? Yes. BUT I had such a strong feeling in my gut that this was something I just had to do and I wasn’t going to be happy until I followed this urge I felt. I left behind my family, pets, my friends and my boyfriend of 6 years. We had been together since high school and making the call to leave it all behind was extremely difficult. He was so supportive of me and knew travelling was something I had to experience and for that, I am so grateful.
Another event in my life that influenced my decision to leave was something I haven’t really talked about publicly and that is the passing of my Aunty. She was just 45 years old when she lost her battle against melanoma late October last year. Even though she was only 45 years old, she had lived her life to the full. She spent years travelling the world and was such an inspiration to me. We were very close, me being the eldest niece. It was just before her passing, my nana, was diagnosed with leukaemia. She too fought hard, trying to stay strong for my Aunty while she was still with us and actually managed to beat the cancer, however it was the chemotherapy in the end that was just too much for her body. She sadly passed away mid February. Being the eldest grandchild, I was extremely close with my nana. We shared a love of clothes and everything beauty related. Saying goodbye was extremely tough.
Losing two people, very close to me, within the space of 4 months really changed my outlook on life. They have inspired me more than they will ever know and I feel their strength and presence everyday that I’m away from home, along with my Grandpa who is also up there with them. Now I’m not trying to turn this into a sob story, or make you feel sorry for me. I know everyone has lost people close to them, and if you haven’t, you are extremely lucky. Grief is a horrible thing, and something I’m not familiar in dealing with until recently. The point I want to get across here is that I took this grief and turned it into motivation and drive to go out and follow my dreams.
The result? Well I couldn’t be happier than I am right now! While writing this, I’m sitting in my bunk bed in my room at a hostel in Mexico where I’m volunteering. Yes I feel a little lame writing this while just sitting in the room but it seems to be the only place I can actually focus (HA). The hostel and the people are so social, which is amazing, but whenever I try and go work outside, I get distracted, oops!
During the day I help out at the front desk and in exchange I get free accomodation, food and some activities. It’s been amazing for getting to know the other workers here and especially for keep costs low. I’m still hustling on the side and trying to make the whole digital nomad thing work for me (more on this in another blog post). I’ve got a couple more weeks here before I move on to Portugal where I’ll be spending the summer in Europe. I’ve never been to Europe and I’m SO excited!!
Before Mexico, I was travelling around Canada and the US in a camper van which you may have seen on Instagram. That was such an awesome trip and I’m so grateful I was able to do it with one of my best friends! A full Itinerary and review on the camper-van we hired is also in the mix so stay tuned for that.
And so, that’s my story. I need to go update my about page now that I’ve left the 9-5!
I’m just going to leave you with one last thought…if any of you out there are dreaming of travelling the world, or anything else for that matter! Maybe you want to take a leap and start your own business? Do yourself a favour and just go for it. Make a plan and make it happen. If it doesn’t work out, okay that’s fine. At least you know that you tried and you aren’t left wondering, what if? Just think to yourself, what would you do if you couldn’t fail? – cheesy overused quote, I know, but it’s a goodie.
If any of you have any questions, or are also thinking about making the move to travel full time, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you❤️
