There are a lot of places in the world I want to escape to and explore, I can’t scroll through my instagram feed without the urge to book a spontaneous instagram trip to Europe or Asia or Australia or anywhere really. Thinking about my next trip, saving for it, planning for it, and envisioning it are all a part of the process and the primary reason why I started up this blog again. My hopes are to one day turning traveling into my full time job. It is a pretty lofty goal, but one I am extremely confident that I can achieve if I set my mind to it. And thanks to my dad, once I set my mind on something, I have laser focus on only that goal.
Even though I am a little late to the game with New Year’s Resolutions, I am still going to create a list for my travels and explorations to keep me working towards my goal a little bit every single day. I still am pursuing design as my primary way to make money because I do truly enjoy designing, but deep down I know my heart lies in a life of travel. And if I’ve learned anything over the course of 2018, it’s that nothing happens overnight, so I’m dedicated 2019 to making my dream job become a reality and using this post as a benchmark. On December 31st, 2019 I can see just how much I accomplished.
I’ve split the following section into two categories, my Design to Explore goals for the growth of my instagram and blog, and my actual travel goals outlining the places I visit and experience.
DESIGN TO EXPLORE GOALS
Reach at least 10k followers on instagram
Maintain 10% engagement rate on instagram posts
Make first profitable collaboration on instagram
Increase traffic on web blog
These goals are pretty self explanatory, but the overarching goal is essentially the same. I want to increase engagement and get people to follow me and my story. I promise to deliver exceptional content always, and provide you with the best information about traveling, from planning tips, to packing tricks, to hostel hacks, I have the experience and I want to share it with you so that you can have a great trip yourself.
TRAVEL GOALS
Park City, Utah, USA
This trip is PLANNED! At the end of February I will be heading out west with my Muther to hit the slopes! Excited for this action packed week on the mountain.
photo from our last ski trip to park city in 2017!
Rome + Florence, Italy
This trip is PLANNED! Mid-April, Steven and I will be heading across the pond to Italy! This will be Steven’s FIRST trip outside North America and we are oh so excited about it. We will be hitting Rome and Florence and potentially some other smaller Tuscan towns and villages along the way. Actual planning is still in progress.
National Parks out West, USA
On the anniversary of our trip to Iceland last year, my cousin is taking a grand trip out west and I am dying to join her for a week or so to experience some of the natural beauty America has to offer! Having been to different international locations, I realized I haven’t explore many parts of the USA and I’m excited to see it on this adventure!
Lake Michigan, Michigan, USA
After my first lake trip last year, I’m excited to return again to Lake Michigan at some point this summer for a weekend! It definitely contrasts the ocean of Long Beach Island that I am used to, but it is still spectacular nonetheless.
Long Beach Island, NJ, USA
Ahhh, my favorite place on earth and the only place on earth you will find me on 4th of July, ever. Mark my words. No matter where in the world I may go, 4th of July you will aways find me in LBI. A magical dot on the jersey coastline, I might be biased having spent every summer there my entire life. Hoping to make my way out there for 4th of July for a long vacation this summer.
photo cred to my lovely brother tommy
Weekend Trip to California
Deep down, I am a beach girl at heart, probably due to the fact that LBI is essentially my hometown and I spent summers on the beach. I want to take a weekend trip to California, undecided on which city, but most likely San Francisco, to experience the West Coast for a change.
Weekend Trip to Seattle, WA, USA
Seattle is a pretty mysterious city to me, to my knowledge its home to tech because everyone I know from school who major in a tech related field has found their place in Seattle. I definitely want to go and experience another city and also take advantage of some of the beauty the Pacific North West has to offer.
2-4 week Trip to Australia
This trip is on my radar because of $500 ROUND TRIP TICKETS FROM CHICAGO. Like WTF, have you ever heard of such a thing? Contemplating making the move to revisit the land of my study abroad adventures, the endless sunshine, and amazing landscapes.
2 week Trip to Europe (Amsterdam, Croatia, and ???)
As one of my friends from childhood might be moving to Europe for her job in August, I am definitely blocking out some time to visit her in her new digs and of course squeeze in another adventure along the way. With the proximity and easy transport of European countries, I can definitely see this trip happening.
So my travel goals are pretty insane at the moment, but it’s something to strive for. I know I might not be able to make all the trips of my dreams happen, but I’m determined to see as many places that I can this and keep creating content along the way. It’s my passion and I’m going after it with all I’ve got.