In 2018 I graduated college with my Bachelors in Business Administration. I had gotten a few job offers prior to graduation, but those career paths just didn’t feel right to me. I didn’t spend four years in college only to graduate and sell printers. So I decided to take some time to find the right job and travel in the meantime. 

My first destination was Oahu, Hawaii. My “sistercousin” Brooke had dropped everything a few months prior and moved to Hawaii. It had always been her dream to live there, and she and her boyfriend made it happen. So, I packed my bags and stayed with her for two weeks. Brooke too is an avid adventurer so naturally we decided to take a trip. We scoured Pinterest and picked the location that had always been my almost – Italy.

Let me explain why I say that. In college I had two opportunities to study abroad at my ultimate travel destination – Italy. The first time I had everything packed and ready to go. It was two weeks before my flight departed when I got a call informing me that my Grandma had Cancer. They told me she would be having emergency surgery to hopefully remove it the following week. My Grandma had been like a mother to me, and so I decided I couldn’t leave. I dropped out of my study abroad program and lost thousands of dollars in the process. The money wasn’t what was important, and I am thankful I stayed because that one day surgery turned into three months in the ICU.

Fast forward one year later – I apply to the study abroad program for round two. I had everything packed and ready to go – when I found out that my Grandma’s cancer had returned. Not only that, but I was now in a long term and long distance relationship. I was scared to lose two people I cared about, so I chickened out and dropped out of the program, again. Italy just didn’t seem like it was going to happen for me. So when Brooke and I decided what place to travel to first, I felt like we had to go to Italy. 

That day in Hawaii we found the best deal ever – $520 round-trip tickets to Italy! We instantly booked it and so began our travel journey.

Going to Italy was truly life changing. Experiencing the beauty and culture of a country on the other side of the world can’t help but impact you. It made me less afraid to travel. It made me realize there is so much more to life than just our American way of living. It made me realize how thankful I am to live in America. It made me realize I want to see what else is out there. It made me realize you need to dream big. 

When I got home from Italy I began my dream job in Field Marketing. Having a full-time job limited my travels to weekend getaways until about a year later (2019) when I decided I wanted to go to Thailand. Around the same time I met my loving Boyfriend, Danny. We had only been dating a few months when I asked him to go to Thailand with me. I sent him some awe inspiring photos I found on Pinterest, and to my surprise he said yes! So we saved up our PTO and took two weeks off for the adventure.

Thailand truly does have the most beautiful beaches and sunsets. It was a totally different kind of vacation from Italy, but totally amazing in its own way! 

Fast forward to 2020…

Myself, like many of you, got laid off due to COVID-19. Work halted, travel halted, and normal life halted. The one thing COVID-19 did give me though, is time. Time to pursue the things I am passionate about like travel and design. 

If you are still reading, I hope to encourage you to try something new. Plan something big for the future. Maybe that’s your dream vacation or your dream home. Life will resume again, and when it does go to all the places you’ve been dreaming about.

XOXO,

Savannah