Be relentless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire

I’m not gonna lie to you guys- it’s taken a sh*t load of courage, an ounce of “you got this” from my best support crew, and a dash (or a whole cup) of learning that its okay to want to be creative and to finally develop my very own travel blog. But, I figure its about time I took a leaf out of Arthur Ashe’s book - start where I am, use what I have and do what I can. Feel the fear and do it anywhere kind of vibe. So, here I am, ready to lay it all out. Be vulnerable, get creative, practice trial and error, and find my own groove in this content creation environment. Oh and have a really damn good time whilst doing so. I hope that this blog, my writing, and my content can inspire even just one person to visit a destination they never dreamed of or save up for the trip of a lifetime! Wish me luck!

Just a little bit about me:

I’m going to attempt (key word being attempt) to keep this short and sweet because as some of you will already know I have a self-confessed tendency to carry on in conversation when telling a story or experience. It’s not the worst trait to have, but it tends to lead me off track. Like right now.

For as long as I can remember I have been utterly obsessed with all things travel. I was extremely fortunate while I was growing up, being able to travel with my family to various countries & I can genuinely say I owe all of my travel passion to my parents because of it! All I ever craved at high school & university was to be able to explore; it didn’t matter where, or how far, I just wanted to see as much as possible as often as possible. Living in New Zealand sometimes made it hard to travel out to the rest of the world, especially whilst I was studying and saving, but I took it as an opportunity to explore my own environment and see as much of New Zealand as possible & I managed to do so without crushing my wallet!

My love for all things travel drove me to attend university and study towards a Bachelors degree in Tourism Management and I am so grateful for that opportunity. Most people go to university with no direction or idea on what they are truly passionate about but I just knew. It was instant for me. As soon as I started my course I fell in love, even more so, with travel and tourism and everything it offered. It confirmed whole heartedly that this was 100% the career for me. Unsuprisingly to those who know me, it only took 3 days after my final exams to book my one way flight to Europe. 9 months later, after a whole lot of moving around (3 cities, 3 jobs, 3 houses all in the space of 4 months), I had reached the date of my departure in September of 2018. I have been away from home for just over two months now and this, this is where I’m at..

So! I’ve taken a big step (a lot scarier than I had initially thought) and moved over to the hustle & bustle that is London after finishing a 5 week travelling stint around some of the hot spots of Europe with Contiki & one of my best friends (don’t worry, I’ll for sure touch on these adventures in following posts!). I never initially believed I would live in London after leaving university- in fact I had absolutely no clue where the hell I was going to end up after I finished my Contiki. But, work and relationship opportunities & life played out extremely well in my favour & now here I am, living in a flat share in London and working my way back up towards my next Europe trip in 2019! Nearly every single day it does really feel like a massive dream that I’m here. I mean, how did life even get this good!?

Truth be told, living in London has been a massive shock to the system, but a good one at that. I can spend a few hours just wandering around (literally all I’m doing at the moment whilst I get back on my feet financially) & find myself just content with everything around me. London really doesn’t sleep and I’m so fortunate to be living in a place like this that has so many opportunities and is so central to Europe (seriously, can we talk about how for granted the English take having Europe so close by and cheap t

o access?). I’ll touch eventually on the financial hardships and budgeting I’m having to learn to do whilst living here in another blog but just for mum and dad and those I haven’t spoken to in a while I’m more than fine, I’m happy- even with the more challenging days, I’m out of my comfort zone and I’m constantly learning; is there anything more I could ask for right now?

And, well, that’s where I’m at! There is a lot more to come from me on here. I have a lot of stories, ideas, advice and knowledge I want to share and I’m looking forward to pursuing these little old dreams of mine. Because if not now, when?

Sincerely,

A quote book in human form..

Abbey X