WELCOME TO MY FIRST BLOG POST!
After trial and error, creating my own website, and biting my nails to the beds...
Welcome! Whew! I’ve been beyond eager to launch this bad boy for you guys :)
For my first post, I deem it only fair to not dive right into the good stuff, but give you guys some background on who I am, and what my intentions are with this little project.
I apologize for the length of this blog now, but considering there are some key details to support my beliefs, it’s a must. There's a few points that might throw you off until the end, but I promise it will all make sense!
Strap down your rain fly’s boys and girls, it’s blog time.
Back in 2015, I graduated from High school, and decided I was going to move faaar away from home; in which I’d attend college in either Florida or Colorado. From years of family vacations visiting Florida, I’d grown a sense of comfort for The Sunshine State, however; comfort didn’t settle well with me. I was someone that tried to succeed at everything I took on, whether that made me gruelingly insane or not. I relentlessly craved being “perfect”- but after some time, even I realized that perfection was nonexistent.
Although I’d never visited Colorado (until my dad and I hopped on a plane to visit Colorado Mesa Univ. in Grand Junction, CO prior to graduating), there was something beckoning me to the vast landscape of the often photographed snow-capped mountains. After I visited, I was heavily set on packing up my life to discover what college in Colorado would bring my way. The only issue with that? I didn’t have $25,000 to put towards tuition.
My parents hadn’t put any money away for my funding, which I understood, but it still bothered me. I wanted so badly to “fit in” by attending an interesting college, that I had lost sight on what was truly important.
Like my father, I’m OVERLY money conscious. Even I knew it was unrealistic; if my parents wouldn’t take a loan out for it, there was no way in living hell I would sign my life away to a ridiculous Sallie-Mae loan either! Regardless of the scholarships I had received, I realized how an education shouldn’t have such an enormous price tag. I wanted to continue learning more than anything, yet I simply needed an alternative solution.
The solution? Enrolling myself in the unheard of “Gap Year”.
It seemed like a “bulletproof” plan. I was to gain residency in Colorado, reapply at CMU, and thus be offered cheaper tuition. However, the thought of a loan still made me uneasy. The thought of being an “adult”, where I was already ankle deep in DEBT? But.. I was only 18. That couldn’t possibly be the outcome.
Besides that, what mattered was that I was moving to Colorado- which gave me the time to figure out a “cheaper way” into college. Until then, I threw that mess of an idea on the simmering back-burner.
With the summer fading, I had to quickly scheme together my alternative plan.
First, I had to decide what I enjoyed most in life- and a few things instantly popped into mind: exercising, being outdoors, running, and snowboarding.
Of those few activities, I began my research about different companies I could potentially work for. That’s when I took a closer look at Vail Resorts.
I could get paid to snowboard and ski… WHAT? Sign me up!
As the cold months grew closer, I slowly worked out the kinks, becoming well prepared for my first move. Let me remind you, I was moving 19hrs away, at 18, with no one else.
With all of the ‘hugs’ and ‘see ya laters’, leaving all I knew behind, I happily opened my mind to a different perspective.
(Fast forward in time)
Colorado was, and still is, my biggest accomplish. I overcame fear in an entirely different aspect. The move had allowed me to learn how to harness the power of being radiantly positive. This first step into the real world, also accommodated me with meeting those whom I now call my family. This genuine bunch are the kind that eagerly want to ski pow-days from first to last chair, conquer hiking multiple 14ers in a day, as well as drive through a snowstorm to help one adopt their first pup.
They are a twist of fate in my so far brief life.
Let’s retrospect back to 2016 - 2017, I had..
taken an EMT course over the summer of ‘16, where I tried to maintain working full-time, while raising my over-active, newly-adopted Border Collie. I have zero excuses for what happened, only that I was trying to achieve that similar “perfection” that I had felt from my high school days. Drowning in my own issues, I failed my certification exam, over & over & over. Devastated, I lost my mind- I didn’t succeed. Failing that exam is still my biggest failure so far, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without that experience. I lost an incredible job opportunity, one that made me hold a certain pride to my unheard of name, yet I had to shake off the shame. The world would keep rotating with or without me, so I let myself grieve, reminded myself it wasn’t the end of the world, apologized to my team, remembered I still had a roof over my head, and that everything happens for a reason.
I must note, there were many positives to undergoing my EMT class regardless of the outcome.
1.) I would’ve never been offered a job as a Ski Patroller (yes, I’m still happily working towards my certification to obtain this title).
2.) Without that offer, I would’ve went away to attend college at CMU instead of stay at the resort.
3.) If I had left the resort, I wouldn’t have met my beautiful man, Seth Simpson.
Although my biggest failure was not becoming a certified EMT, it led me to my person. The person who is slower than me to get out the door, unbelievably motivated to simply achieve something, as well as wear positivity on his sleeve at all times.
Seth has been my #1 supporter; on thoughts, on ideas, on being the one to accompany me on what I would finally like to introduce you all to as...
THE 37 DAY CAMPING EXTRAVAGANZA.
Pardon me, I’m currently into the color orange right now…
ON THE OTHER HAND,
this is where it’s about to get juicy with my intentions and future plans my fellow peeps!
Fast forward to the end of the 2017 ski season- just about everyone is itching to go on an annual mud-season camping trip. Typically, people rushingly retreat to the desert for a week or two, but in this case; the lovely Seth and I secretly planned something a tad more outrageous.
We eagerly saved as much $$ as we could, and geared up for our “plan-as-we-go” camping trip. We made rough estimates of what we’d need; how much money, our desired points of interests, how to long-term pack, where we would root down when we had finished up, as well as pray for the best.
I won’t go into anymore detail about the trip itself for today, but I promise, it’s coming!
For the people dedicating a sit down to read this blog post- you’re making my dreams come alive. I am overly appreciative of the time you’ve taken to bear with me on the background info, THANK YOU!
As of my intentions, this is the low down.
I’m here to impact the internet with my iphone photography and unforgettable memories.
The plan is to share advice with other outdoor enthusiasts as listed:
How to budget when camping
National Parks camping
Daily tips/tricks
Gear opinions/preferences
Meal thoughts
Story time
Making sure “fiddo” isn’t left out of the trip
With these intentions, I hope to introduce a corresponding brand where I am able to help promote an artist’s ideas for a certain amount of time. That's one of my biggest hopes with the creation of this blog, to merely help other aspiring creators.
I desire to help others step outside of their regulated life, and maybe inspire them to go on an excessively long camping trip.
I want to help others understand that time is extremely valuable, and embracing positivity is a crucial step in being successful.
I want to help others understand that the “social norm” of going straight to college is great, but there are PLENTY of other options to choose from if you're unsure!
All in all, I want to help others understand that the best things in live, happen from a huge risk or even a complete failure you endure. These are a few of the things that matter dearly to me, and I can only hope to make my readers think twice.
Well, what was 3 pages later in my google docs, and I must step back from the screen while you guys determine your thoughts. Thank you for taking your time to willingly visit my page, and read that madness of what is “My first blog post.”
Seriously, it’s an honor, I appreciate-cha :)
I understand that this post mainly touched base with who I am, but it all brought me to this.
The here and now. Squirming on my craigslist couch. Amped up for the future!
Until tomorrow, when my blog will begin to unravel itself.
Xo,
The Traveller, bug