My Why for Packing up the Pieces

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Are you scared or nervous to travel independently?  I hope that I can help alleviate that fear. Tackling my first trip was nerve wracking, but now travel is a major part of my identity. I often write with the mindset that “Anyone Can Travel,” and IT’S TRUE!

Not only do I want to encourage travel, but ultimately I hope I can inspire others to get outside their comfort zone by traveling abroad. I wish to support a conscious shift in how we travel as a collective unit and maybe even open our minds and perceptions about the world, other cultures, and even ourselves.

I want to restore the idea of sustainable travel with the emphasis that the money goes directly to the city, town, and region.

We can start to make a social change by shifting our wallets away from big name hotels, chain restaurants, and avoiding all inclusive resorts or massive cruise ships when we travel. It’s also why you won’t see any Amazon links on this website.  

I travel by sleeping at family-run guest houses, hostels, and look for locally owned Air B & B’s.  Find me shopping at local markets, supporting neighborhood restaurants, and even getting lost…I mean using public transportation.

So, if you crave an authentic travel experience, then you’ve come to the right place! I write all my own content and only share my own personal experiences. Navigate this site by my favorite hiking and adventures, wanna-be foodie guides, detailed travelogues and itineraries, and of course one of my favorite activities, seeking out natural hot springs.

I always try to travel “off the beaten path” and as local as possible. By doing this, all my travel and destination guides are budget conscious

And let’s be real, after 12 years on the road, I’ve really learned how to make my money stretch.

The world is such a beautiful canvas, and I want to help fill yours with experiences, memories, and splashes of vivid colors. I hope you find my site authentic and useful, as it is my intention to encourage everyone and anyone to travel!

So get lost with me, there’s plenty of room in my backpack! See the world through my eyes, as I begin Packing up the Pieces.

My Long Over-sharing Story

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As high school graduation began to roll around, I begged my parents to let me backpack the summer in Europe before I started college in the fall. I had big dreams of hopping on a bike and getting lost in destinations that I had only seen on T.V, and in my dreams. As an 18 year old who had hardly left my home state of Wisconsin, I was met with a loving, but firm “no.” A huge wave of disappointment rushed over me. I never felt like I belonged or fit in, but it was as if the world was calling to me, telling me there was a place out there for me.

My parents did give me a wonderful consolation gift, a ticket to Australia. I would embark on a three week long trip to Australia with family friends.  Little did I know that this trip would end up impacting me forever. I was thankful for this experience, but it changed me in ways that I least expected.

First International Trip

Leaving for my first international trip was so exciting. I remember boarding the plane with nothing but excitement and pure joy. To be 18 and on a whole new continent, and I would even step foot onto a new hemisphere.

Sadly, my expectations didn’t meet up to the reality of this trip. The group moved nonchalantly from typical tourist hot spots, like we were checking experiences off of a checklist. The trip felt uninspiring and incomplete. In addition to that, I felt like an outsider in my group. While they browsed trinket shops and booked tours, I spent a lot of my time alone. I was grateful to have such an opportunity, but I was not connecting with the destinations or my group. I was sad, homesick, and isolated.

Halfway through the trip, I decided, if I was going to be alone, that at least I would start enjoying activities that interested me, resulting in me dipping my toes in solo traveling. I wanted to see the beauty of this place and was curious about the unknown that was right in front of me.  I started doing more adventurous things including: a dive at the great barrier reef, parasailing, and rode a hot air balloon over the Outback.

Perspective Shift

The trip fueled my desire to travel deeply with intention. It changed my entire attitude towards travel and what it meant to me. I didn’t enjoy going through the motions of a “tourist checklist,” or following the typical path. I guess my life had always been like this, I just didn’t quite realize it so young.

At the beginning of this trip, I felt like an observer, but by the end, I was the creator of my own journey. The most important lesson I took away from this trip was how I wanted to see and experience the world. Being an observer on the trip felt wrong, so on my next adventure, I would travel with purpose and experience each step with a mindful approach. Next trip I would seek-out experiences and collect memories, not souvenirs.

As an 18 year old who had never left the country, this trip gave me confidence and courage that anyone can travel.

The Start of College

After this trip, I started college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. I registered my courses to begin an Accounting Major, but soon realized that this path was not for me. My university promoted many study abroad programs, and soon, I began dreaming of spending a semester aboard.

Study Aboard Opportunities

Those dreams soon became a reality. During my second year, I spent a semester living in a palace in Scotland right outside of Edinburgh.  The palace was a surreal backdrop where 90 students from 5 universities lived, played, studied, and traveled together. Cue Real World cameras…..

With classes only three days a week,  I spent my weekends traveling on a budget wherever RyanAir, EasyJet, or the train would take me.  The semester passed in a blink of an eye. During my three months there, I had managed to visit Amsterdam, Ireland, Rome, Prague, Mallorca, and took various long weekend getaways throughout the U.K. Some of my favorite memories happened at this magical palace and fueled my desire to continue to see more of the world.

In my final year, I participated in another study-abroad experience. This time, I spent a month traveling in Vietnam. This experience opened my eyes to yet another continent.  I came home ready to graduate and start tackling the “real world.”

Graduation

I finished college with a double major in Marketing Communications and Business Administration. This was one of my lowest points in life. I seemed to have it all: a fresh college degree, a serious boyfriend, nice car, and dreams of that white picket fence life. Inside, I was miserable.

My mind would oftentimes wander to the pubs in Edinburgh, the salty air of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, coffeeshops in Amsterdam, the back alleys in Rome, and all the places I had never been to yet.  I couldn’t focus, and in the near future, I would lose myself completely.

I tried to normalize myself and fit into society by working a 9-5 job. It feels like a past life now, but I worked for a tobacco company. It is crazy to even think back on this point in my life. On paper this job was perfect. It came with a good salary, a company car and gas card, full benefits, and a bonus system.

The truth is I never belonged there and my mind suffered greatly.

The Start of My Depression

Everyday I got worse. I fell into a deep depression and wondered some days how I would pull myself out of bed. I was selling products I didn’t feel good about, waking up in a stale apartment, being with someone whom I no longer connected with, and following the same miserable routine, day after day.

My physical health began to suffer, and I lost a ton of weight. A majority of my time was spent in bed. To get through the day, I would smoke a pack and a half of cigarettes. At night, I would cry until I lost myself to sleep.  I felt like a stranger watching someone else’s mundane life. Yes, I dug myself so deep into my depression that I was looking at the reality of ending my life. I was drowning in the sea of misery that I had created around me, and I was looking for any kind of exit strategy.

There was a light at the end of this tunnel. Soon, my sister would graduate from high school, and we would embark on a three and a half week trip through Europe. It gave me something to be excited about again, something to plan and look forward to.

A Trip with my Sister Saved My Life

The day finally came and we boarded a plane to Frankfurt. We spent 3 and half weeks with our backpacks in tow, sleeping on trains, staying in hostels, getting lost in the middle of the night, and even fighting over a bar of soap. We visited little villages in Germany, strolled into coffee-shops in Amsterdam, went canyoning in Switzerland, strolled through fairy-tale villages in Austria, and soaked in the thermal pools in Budapest.

That was it.  All of these things made me feel alive again.

Between my sister, Europe, the adventure, planning, hilltop villages, hostel rooms filled with 40 people, biking in valleys, and the beauty of it all, it brought me back. I was more alive in these moments than I had been the last two years of my life.

Fresh Start

I came home and put in my two-week notice. My dad and grandpa came and helped me pack up all of all my possessions. I left that stale apartment behind, and with it, a crumbling relationship, and the ghost of who I was supposed to be. I shut the door of that apartment and with it, I left behind all those expectations from family and society of what I was supposed to be. In this moment, I realized that I was never going to fit into the puzzle of normal, and that was okay, too.

When I came home to my parents’ house, I didn’t feel defeated, but rather, I felt a twinge of hope. I had no car, no job, but I had a plan. I was going to move to Portland, Oregon; a city that I had never even been, but it was calling to me. So I went.

Moving Out West

Packing up that U-haul with everything I owned was one of my most pivotal moments. With only $3,000 in my bank account, my dad, grandpa, and an amazing neighbor in tow, I moved into downtown Portland. I had an intent to sign a lease on a place I found on Craig’s list.

On this three day road trip, we drove through lots of flat landscapes and tall mountains. I had never been this far West. It was in this moment that I made a promise to myself. I was never going to let myself fall into a pit of depression again. This was my shot at a new life, and I was not going to waste another second of it. I made the decision to choose happiness again and live each day with a fresh set of eyes.

I don’t know what pulled me to this city, but it changed my entire life, but I am thankful for that every single day.

My search began for a new temporary job, until I figured out my next steps. I instantly got a job as a cocktail waitress in a lively pub downtown.  Things were starting to piece together. I had an income, an amazing group of women surrounding me, and pure gratitude for this new life. The next year and a half were incredible. I worked, reconnected with nature, discovered the city, but most importantly, I found myself again.

Portland made me truly happy, but my personal growth had become stagnant. I had found myself, but I missed the world and the feeling of being constantly outside of my comfort zone.

Ready to embrace a new challenge, I started looking for jobs that would allow me to continue to see the world.

A Unique Job Opportunity

On a whim, I signed up to work on a cruise ship in Hawaii. It was one of my worst, yet best decisions of my life. What they don’t tell you about working on a cruise ship is that it is like living in a college dorm room, but with no form of escape. The work is constant and is enforced by strict regulations. I had a new understanding of the phrase “runs a tight ship.”

The regulations are necessary, however, because of the fact that you are living, working, and playing with almost 1,000 employees, “cutting loose” and drinking was an easy way to blow off steam. Unfortunately, it was easy for me to fall into the party scene and lose focus. I began spiraling out of control, but this time, I could recognize it. Working on a cruise ship was definitely not for me, and I didn’t even finish my 5 month contract. I could see my path of destruction, and I “jumped ship” with only two weeks left to go. There were lots of fun memories, but I was happy to rid myself of the destructive path I was on.

Not everything was terrible on the cruise ship. My fondest memories are the ones of the people I met along the way. These new friends were so significant in my story, and some of these new friendships ended up shaping my life in the most substantial of ways.

Transitioning Into the “Yachting World”

One of my best friends on the cruise ship pulled me into the yachting industry. She needed a crew member ASAP, and luckily, I was available. The stars aligned, and I helped her finish up her season in Alaska. The yachting world was completely different from working on the cruise ships, and I loved it! Initially, I thought I would stick with it for only a few years to save up enough money to go back to get my masters degree, but somehow I stayed with it for almost 10 years. Being in this industry completely changed my life for the better.

In my yachting career, I was fortunate to spend five seasons in Alaska and a year sailing around the turquoise beaches of the Mediterranean. During the winters, I soaked in sunsets in the Caribbean. I’ve been through the Panama Canal. I swam with pigs in the Bahamas and attended local festivals in Barbados. Honestly, I look back on those ten years of yachting with a smile.

My story is different because I mostly worked for incredible people. Many included me in their adventures and excursions.

Working on yachts was an extremely challenging job. There were months where I didn’t have a single day off. Sometimes I worked 18 hour shifts for weeks in a row. I wouldn’t change it for the world because the good always outweighed the bad for me. It has shaped me into the person whom I have become.

A Different Kind of Yachtie

Yes, I had become a “yachtie.” I hate the term for the stereotypes that come with it, but the industry has been amazing to me, so I tried to avoid the cliches that came with the name. I was fortunate to work a lot of seasonal positions, so I didn’t get too wrapped up into the “scene.”

When I wasn’t working on the yachts, I was visiting my family, or out exploring the world with no set plans or itinerary. Most of my gigs were seasonal, meaning, I would work for six months and then have six months off. During this time, it was just me and my backpack. Instead of spending my money on brand name bags, shoes, and designer sun-glasses, I was spent all my savings on traveling and experiences.

I enjoy staying in hostels for $5 a night in Albania, or eating a $2 plate of food in a market in Ecuador. I was always seeking out ways to keep my travels authentic and integrating myself into local customs and traditions. When not on the boats, I became a traveler lost in the sea of the unknown.

On the boats and in the marinas, I was surrounded by extreme wealth, so during my free time, I sought out the opposite and traveled as simple and basic as possible. I worked for amazing people who never let the money define who they were, so I really feel so blessed for my time working on yachts.

My version of yachting can be quite rare, and there are always two sides to any story. Sometimes I saw the ugly sides of money, where people used material items to fill the void of missing relationships with others or self. So many people who “appear to have it all” on the outside are actually hurting, sad, or unhappy on the inside.

One of the grandest lessons I’ve ever learned that the money isn’t real. Or, maybe it’s that Money does not buy happiness, and it never will. In all my travels across the globe, some of the happiest of people I have met own nothing at all. Their wealth comes from their experiences, good health, delicious meals, the company they surround themselves with, and their deep-rooted connection with nature.

I am thankful for my lessons and experiences from working on boats all those years, but I knew it was time to move on and start implementing all the lessons I learned and help positively impact others.

The Start of Packing up the Pieces Blog

One defining moment that changed my life was dabbling with the sacred plant medicines of Ayahuasca and San Pedro. Yes, Packing up the Pieces was “planted” into my mind during a ceremony, including the name. The ceremonies gave me one final push of confidence to start this blog. A seed was planted that I could take all of the knowledge, education and experiences from my travels and share them with others.

Mindful Travel

I am always trying to travel with intention and purpose. I sleep at family-run guest houses, hostels, and try to find local long term accommodations.  Find me shopping at local markets, supporting neighborhood restaurants, and even getting lost…I mean using public transportation.

I want to encourage sustainable travel with the emphasis that the money goes directly to the city, town, and region. We can start to make a social change by shifting our wallets away from big name hotels, chain restaurants, and avoiding all inclusive resorts or massive cruise ships when we travel.  I focus on spending money in small communities and moving away from the large corporations. This is one of the biggest ways we can help impact and improve local economies and spark a paradigm change.

Social change can happen, and travel may just be one key to understanding that.

We are all humans on the journey of life. Even though we speak different languages, practice different customs, and may look different on the surface, we are collectively all humans. Look closely and see that we are more alike than we are different. I see acts of kindness and have many heartfelt moments on the road.

Travel has made me rich beyond my wildest dreams.

So follow along as I begin Packing up the Pieces….

➜ Pssst... My story continues in my personal Puzzling Pieces articles