Thank you, Universe
I told the universe I wanted to leave everything behind to travel, and thats just what it allowed me to do. The universe couldn't have aligned in a more perfect way, to allow me to do something I wanted to do more than anything...see the world! Thank you, Universe!
Thinking back to the moment I decided I wanted to travel, I remember it like it was yesterday.
I'm 33 years old and just now getting bit by the travel bug. Before, I mostly focused on dreams of getting married, buying a home with a white picket fence, and having a family with 4 kids. My career was even secondary to this image. When that dream didn´t pan out like I imagined, I opened myself up for new and bigger dreams.
I'm now a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and have been working in the corporate world for over 10 years. Everyday I went to work, I wanted to do and be somewhere else. I have always felt like something was missing in my life, but never knew quite what it was. It´s said to always listen to your gut, and my gut told me what I was doing, wasn't my passion. There were obviously things that kept me going, like the paycheck, the benefits, the lifestyle in Houston that I absolutely loved, and the friends I made through the years. Don´t get me wrong, being an engineer is a prestigious and intense career and I'm thankful for the companies and people that I worked with. My coworkers are some of my best friends still today. Sometimes I'd go to work solely looking forward to the socializing and laughter with my coworkers. I felt we had such an amazing comradery, but the little things I would to try to find to make myself happy, were slowly diminishing. The one thing I did love was hearing the pride in my family's voice as they introduced me as an engineer. Nonetheless, day in and day out I was quietly miserable, and would get this sinking feeling in my stomach every Sunday. Everyday I wanted to quit. You get the point.
Anyway, so one day instead of studying for my PE exam for the 3rd time...I thought to myself, I wonder if I could live off of what I have in my bank account for the rest of my life? I actually started calculating for the worst case scenario (yes, nerdy I know). If I lived until I was 80 years old...ok, lets round up to be more optimistic...100 years old and I have $$$, that means I'd have to live on a dollar a day. There is no way! But maybe it is possible... so I Googled, ´How to live on a dollar a day´. I came across food challenges where they would spend $3 a day for food and so on. However, this one documentary changed my view on the way I lived drastically! Four guys went to Guatemala and lived on a dollar a day! I began to feel so privileged, like I had been taking for granted all the luxuries in my life including hot water or even clean running water. The conditions of a struggling community were eye opening. I was then introduced to minimalism (Conor AND Brittany), people's teachings of living simply, ´less is more´, and documentaries on American consumerism. I became obsessed with these topics, including the Tiny House movement. I even rented the Tiny House in Houston, TX for a weekend. I then started researching on how to travel the world on a budget, cheaply, etc. I ran across Nomadic Matt and thought his life was amazing. He wrote an article about female solo travelers and the light bulb just clicked!! I bought, Conquering Mountains, an ebook by Kristin Addis an experienced female solo traveler. Not until reading her story, in addition to others, did I truly believe this was something I could really do. It was the night before my PE Exam that I really felt in my gut. I knew this was something I wanted to do more than anything I´ve ever wanted to do before. I shared my crazy idea with my friend Rhonda and my Mom! My Mom said, ¨Do it, Mija!! Go for it!!¨ I felt crazy even saying it, like it was so far fetched and such an unreasonable dream. But that was my first step. Letting the universe know what I wanted to do, from my gut feelings to voicing it to others. This was at the end of October 2015.
A great deal of research followed, including videos on decluttering, minimalism, how Mari Johnson sold all her stuff to travel long term, and how these guys live High on Life. I practically used Mari´s videos as a step by step go by. My original plan was to go in one year, after my Dad´s 60th birthday in 2017. I was planning to save more money, sell all my stuff, and travel the world with just a backpack.
Life took me for a bit of a roller coaster ride the year leading up to my departure.
Thinking back to the moment I decided I wanted to travel, I remember it like it was yesterday.
I'm 33 years old and just now getting bit by the travel bug. Before, I mostly focused on dreams of getting married, buying a home with a white picket fence, and having a family with 4 kids. My career was even secondary to this image. When that dream didn´t pan out like I imagined, I opened myself up for new and bigger dreams.
I'm now a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and have been working in the corporate world for over 10 years. Everyday I went to work, I wanted to do and be somewhere else. I have always felt like something was missing in my life, but never knew quite what it was. It´s said to always listen to your gut, and my gut told me what I was doing, wasn't my passion. There were obviously things that kept me going, like the paycheck, the benefits, the lifestyle in Houston that I absolutely loved, and the friends I made through the years. Don´t get me wrong, being an engineer is a prestigious and intense career and I'm thankful for the companies and people that I worked with. My coworkers are some of my best friends still today. Sometimes I'd go to work solely looking forward to the socializing and laughter with my coworkers. I felt we had such an amazing comradery, but the little things I would to try to find to make myself happy, were slowly diminishing. The one thing I did love was hearing the pride in my family's voice as they introduced me as an engineer. Nonetheless, day in and day out I was quietly miserable, and would get this sinking feeling in my stomach every Sunday. Everyday I wanted to quit. You get the point.
Anyway, so one day instead of studying for my PE exam for the 3rd time...I thought to myself, I wonder if I could live off of what I have in my bank account for the rest of my life? I actually started calculating for the worst case scenario (yes, nerdy I know). If I lived until I was 80 years old...ok, lets round up to be more optimistic...100 years old and I have $$$, that means I'd have to live on a dollar a day. There is no way! But maybe it is possible... so I Googled, ´How to live on a dollar a day´. I came across food challenges where they would spend $3 a day for food and so on. However, this one documentary changed my view on the way I lived drastically! Four guys went to Guatemala and lived on a dollar a day! I began to feel so privileged, like I had been taking for granted all the luxuries in my life including hot water or even clean running water. The conditions of a struggling community were eye opening. I was then introduced to minimalism (Conor AND Brittany), people's teachings of living simply, ´less is more´, and documentaries on American consumerism. I became obsessed with these topics, including the Tiny House movement. I even rented the Tiny House in Houston, TX for a weekend. I then started researching on how to travel the world on a budget, cheaply, etc. I ran across Nomadic Matt and thought his life was amazing. He wrote an article about female solo travelers and the light bulb just clicked!! I bought, Conquering Mountains, an ebook by Kristin Addis an experienced female solo traveler. Not until reading her story, in addition to others, did I truly believe this was something I could really do. It was the night before my PE Exam that I really felt in my gut. I knew this was something I wanted to do more than anything I´ve ever wanted to do before. I shared my crazy idea with my friend Rhonda and my Mom! My Mom said, ¨Do it, Mija!! Go for it!!¨ I felt crazy even saying it, like it was so far fetched and such an unreasonable dream. But that was my first step. Letting the universe know what I wanted to do, from my gut feelings to voicing it to others. This was at the end of October 2015.
A great deal of research followed, including videos on decluttering, minimalism, how Mari Johnson sold all her stuff to travel long term, and how these guys live High on Life. I practically used Mari´s videos as a step by step go by. My original plan was to go in one year, after my Dad´s 60th birthday in 2017. I was planning to save more money, sell all my stuff, and travel the world with just a backpack.
Life took me for a bit of a roller coaster ride the year leading up to my departure.
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