In the 13 months that I’ve been in Australia, my blog has seen its ups and downs. I’ve rarely felt motivated to write, and maybe that’s because I am living as normal a life as I could lead while living overseas; however, I needed to take a look at my backpacking goals and my travel blogging goals.
Getting my travel blogging down when I was backpacking through Asia in 2011 and looking good while doing it.
I’m no longer country hopping, nor am I travelling along the Australian coast in a 6 meter long van. I’m not even taking any weekend trips, so even though I am still living sort of left of centre, I’ve felt anything but motivated to sit down and write blog entries. Instead of navigating my way around the world, I’ve been navigating my way through life in general and my relationship.
I am trying to make the most of living in Australia by getting some professional experience as a journalist, and well that is all well and good, at the end of the day my heart knows nothing else but to love the lifestyle of a traveller.
For a while I lost sight of my travel plans and dreams, and I think it’s just because they felt so incredibly out of reach. Not only is Australia at the ass-end of the earth, but I just have never had any money this entire year. Any trip I’ve been able to go on is because Dane paid for me. Another backpacking trip just seemed like something that wasn’t in the cards for me. I talked about it, but it always felt like empty words that just floated out of my mouth and hanged in the air without any real conviction behind them.
But a mix of day dreams, travel blog reading, talks with my dad and Dane, and sitting down and prioritising my thoughts, I’ve got my life back on track.
Which brings me to the point of this blog.
When I left Korea and set out on my first trip in August 2011, I had no idea that it would change my entire life. I really had no backpacking goals or travel blogging goals. I just wanted to experience life.
I remember feeling like it wasn’t really happening, like the backpacking trip I had been waiting for for what felt like ages was just too incredible to be real when it all started to unfold.
My partners in crime on my first backpacking trip through Asia. Looking good once again.
I’m ready for a new trip to unfold, and so I’m writing this to set forward my backpacking goals and my travel blogging goals.
1.5 years. 18 months. March 2015. That’s what I am saving for, which includes a trip home for Christmas to spend the holidays with my family so we can together celebrate some happy new beginnings as well as picking a country to celebrate my 27th birthday in.
But come my 28th birthday, my plan is to be in South America to start my backpacking trip through South America and Central America, and who knows where else.
That plan also includes increasing my blog readership, which is where all of you lovely people come in.
I’m holding myself to at least three blog posts a week, whether it’s just rambling and musings about my life, my travel plans, revising my past experiences or just writing whatever my little heart feels like writing.
I set up some pretty unrealistic blog goals for myself, like my plan to make at least 100d dollars a month from my blog within the next year. As a New Yorker, I am pretty impatient and like instant gratification, so the fact that I didn’t get any ad offerings within the first week of my “redesign” left me feeling a bit defeated.
I’ve had a pretty loyal readership, and though it’s small it is definitely dedicated, and I owe it to everyone who has kept up with me on this three-year journey (three years!) from when I first left home to when I took a leap and moved to Australia to continue sharing my experiences, both in words and in pictures.
So there you go. I’ve readjusted my focus, and those are my backpacking goals and my travel blogging goals. They’re doable, reachable and easy, and I know that I can get them achieved.
I’ve so far nailed about 30 counties across four continents, and I’ve lived in five countries. It’s a resume to be proud of, but it’s one that I will most definitely always be working on.
Good thing I wound up with another traveller, cause it makes the love of this lifestyle HEAPS easier.
