How To Travel

I've traveled to over 15 countries. The amount of times I've heard: "How do you get to travel so much?", "What's your secret?", or (my personal fave) "You must be really rich" is almost painful. There is no secret to traveling and I can assure you I am definitely not rich. I'm being completely honest and blunt here but if you want to travel then just do it. Make it work. Seriously. There is no excuse for you not to travel. Money, time, obligations, you're making up excuses without even realizing it. Save some money, find the good deals, and go!

 I feel like the number one excuse people have for not traveling is money. That's bullshit. Stop buying the dresses you will only wear once, stop getting high/wasted every night, stop buying the expensive shit.  Not saying you have to stop living your life, but just be a little bit more aware on how you are spending your money. You'll be surprised how much you will save if you stop ordering take out.

Here's what I did: I worked and saved my money for two summers. I let myself have about $200 (which could've been a plane tic!) of that money for new shoes, movies, fancy phone case, etc. The rest I didn't even touch. The following summer in 2015, I saw a world cup game in Montreal and then 2 weeks later I got to backpack Europe for 6 weeks. The same year for winter break I went to Toronto for a couple of days. Now in 2016, I am going to Mexico City in 10 days and (ok this one I am SUPER stoked about!!!) South Africa at the end of April. All of this was paid entirely by me. And I STILL have a bit of money left over.

Granted when I worked for two summers straight I was still living with my parents, so I didn't have any bills to pay; housing was free and so was food. For the rest of you guys that are living on your own, you can still do it. It might take a bit longer but trust me it's worth it. 

So back to the question: "How do you do it? How do you get to travel so much?" I just go. I make time, save money and go. It's really not hard. I think everybody should travel. See the world, get out there. The biggest obstacle in planning a trip is pulling the trigger. For some reason hitting the "Book it" or "Complete purchase" button really trips people up. Alright so this post is getting kinda long. I'll end it here. Next I'll write about what some things I did to save some money during my time abroad and some tricks I've learned to get some sweet deals. Laters!

P.S. Start saving now!! Put aside $20, $10, or even 5 bucks aside every week! Put the money in a clear jar so you can see it grow. Print out pics on where you want to go and tape them on the jar! You can do it.

Introduction pt. 2

I wanted to share a few things before I get into the nitty-gritty. I'm 19 turning 20 and I was born in Sweden (long story) but moved to Central Florida when I was 6. I've lived in the Sunshine State ever since. I am majoring in Digital Arts & Sciences at the University of Florida and I am also pursuing a minor in Computer Science. Go Gators!

My favorite color is purple and I absolutely love potatoes. I'm a giant bookworm (and Potterhead) and chocolate enthusiast. I once owned a turtle but it ran away. Fear not! This story has a happy ending. We found the turtle a mere 4 years later! He's grown considerably but we are 72% certain that he is our turtle. Today, he can be found wondering about in our backyard.

 Last but not least, if you haven't figured it out: I love to travel! Hence, this blog. It scary how big the world is and I want to explore it as much as I can! Alright enough of me, lets talk about traveling. That's why you are here right? Each post after this will have a theme/different point. I haven't really decided how I'm gonna do this but I'll make sure the title of each post is clear. Godspeed.

Introduction pt. 1

Hello folks! Yes I know what you're thinking: "God no. Not another travel blog!" I agree that there's an excessive amount of these things on the internet; however I am doing this for purely selfish reasons. That's right. This is for me. Not you. Sorry... not sorry

 If I write something and it happens to benefit you in some way, then that's grand! I would be genuinely happy. I just wanted to set the record straight that that was not my initial intention. The reason why I am starting this blog is because I've traveled so much and my friends are tired of hearing about it, buuttt... I still want to talk about it. Voila! Thus a blog was born!

The goal is to write a post every week. I'm gonna talk about personal experiences, valuable tips and advice I've come across, and my overall opinions on the does and don'ts of traveling! Fair warning, I am not an excellent writer. Grammar mistakes are bound to happen. I've accepted that. But all things considered, I hope you enjoy!