Happy Tuesday everyone! After a much needed break, my usual Tuesday blog posts are back. I just returned from one of my favorite places to visit: Palm Beach, Florida. There is so much to see and do in Palm Beach; I always feel like I’m in a different world when I visit! Palm Beach is full of luxury that makes every corner photogenic. I couldn’t pass up any opportunity to capture beautiful pictures throughout the week.
Last summer I went on quite a few solo adventures. Since then, I sometimes forget how scared I used to be to do basically anything alone. I used to hate going to stores alone, I never would even think about going out to dinner alone, and I definitely didn’t think I could travel to 7 countries by myself. But I’m here to tell you, it’s possible and sometimes a little push is all it takes. Most things are scarier in your head than in reality…which is exactly what I learned.
Since it has almost been one year since my Europe adventure last summer, I thought I would share the benefits and tips I learned from traveling solo!
Benefits
Tips
As much as I hate being considered a tourist, I love doing touristy things…
If you’ve read my blog before, you should be well aware that New York is my favorite city. I’ve gone countless times and every single trip I come prepared with a huge bucket list, which makes each visit new and exciting. Over my spring break, instead of heading to warm weather and the beach, I wanted to be in NYC. More specifically, I wanted to be in Brooklyn. I have only been once before and last time I did not have the chance to do the one thing at the top of my bucket list: walk the Brooklyn bridge. And I can happily say, walking the Brooklyn bridge was as magical as I envisioned.
There is so much to do in Brooklyn and if you’re not fond of the chaos that surrounds Manhattan at times, I suggest taking a short subway ride to Brooklyn. Brooklyn, New York offers a different vibe than Manhattan and there is so much to do and see. Some of my favorite activities in Brooklyn are walking the bridge, finding a cute coffee shop, and snapping some pictures of the most beautiful skyline.
bySoho is hands down one of my favorite areas in Manhattan. There are so many coffee shops, restaurants, and stores that offer a beautiful aesthetic. There are some places I always visit when I walk through Soho, but this time I made sure to have a list of new places to try too. Here’s a list of my favorite places I made sure to visit this trip to Soho.
Soho Coffee:
Soho Eats and Treats:
Soho Things to Do:
2017 was an life changing year for me. This past year taught me so much about myself and my goals in life. The personal growth I gained will be something I will carry with me throughout my future. Here are 17 most memorable lessons 2017 taught me:
1. Do the things that scare you the most.
All of a sudden before I left for Europe this summer I started to feel scared. Maybe I shouldn’t go, I don’t know what I’m doing, how will I survive alone in a foreign country? Ironically, I stumbled on a quote that read: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” This hit me hard, it was the truest quote I could have read. I knew I wanted to see the world and travel. And once I arrived in Italy this summer and once I returned home I was thankful I overcame my fears.
2. Confidence can begin when you get to know yourself.
Traveling alone gave me the opportunity to only focus on myself. With my full attention on myself, I started to get to know myself more than I thought was possible. I learned my limits, my goals, my insecurities, my hopes, everything. And once I started to know myself, I felt more confident in myself which I was able to show to the world.
3. It’s okay to be alone.
Before this year, I was the type of person who felt uncomfortable being alone in a public place. I constantly worried what people must think of me. Do I look lonely out to eat alone? It was frightening. However, this past summer, I was forced to be alone. So much so that I began to enjoy it to the point where I usually prefer it now. Being alone doesn’t mean I was lonely, and people are never really thinking about me like I feared they were.
4. Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom.
When I arrived to Italy this summer, I took a class for 5 weeks. However, most of my learning happened when I wasn’t in the classroom. I learned so much about different cultures and communication even with a language barrier. Having the ability to travel to so many different countries taught me more about the world than any teacher could in a classroom.
5. Physical health is important.
This year for the first time I really became serious about my health. I had always depended on sports when I was in high school and that momentum stayed with me throughout my first few years of college. But after traveling throughout Europe and thinking I could eat anything I wanted and still look the same… reality hit me. I was not making smart decisions about my health. Exercising is important but eating healthy meals is just as or even more important. It’s also important to remember that eating differently to improve health is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. I want to carry my enthusiasm to live a healthy lifestyle in my future.
6. It’s important to branch out and meet new people.
Similarly, to #3, I used to be content with spending time with the same people. Mostly because I was scared to make new friends. This year I had the chance to meet several new people while I was traveling alone and it made such a difference. It was so satisfying to spend time with new people and to learn about their life. Making new connections is important and another fear that shouldn’t have stopped me from branching out sooner.
7. Being present in the moment is rare but necessary.
Being present in the moment is something so rare, especially with all of the distractions our electronic devices provide. While I was in New Zealand, I participated in several outdoor activities. Most of these activities were physically challenging but because of this I was able to be in the moment. During one of the hikes on the North Island, the mountain became very steep so out of fear for dropping my phone, I put it away in my backpack. By doing so it was as if my eyes were finally opened by all of the amazing beauty around me. I was able to sit along the hike to savor my surroundings and for once, I felt completely present in the moment.
8. Constantly remind yourself of your goals.
A lot will be changing for me next year and so this year I really had to think about my future and what I want. Once I determined my academic, career, and personal goals I decided to place reminders all around myself. I discussed this in depth in a previous post but since doing this simple task, I feel so encouraged to keep working harder because I have a vision that I want to achieve.
9. Save money.
This is a new goal of mine that I finally feel serious about. Budgeting is important and the sooner I start the better my savings account will be. Since I’m a student I don’t have much income yet but next year I want to make an extra effort to save as much money as possible.
10. Waking up early does help with productivity throughout the day.
This past year I started waking up earlier even when I didn’t have class or anything really to do. I was drawn to the thought of having more time throughout the day. This wasn’t easy for me at first but going to bed earlier definitely helped me wake up earlier in the mornings. By doing this I found I really like the mornings and having a small routine I can look forward to. *this routine has been lost due to the holidays* I hope to continue this habit in the new year.
11. I am my own best friend and that is enough.
There is clearly a theme between the lessons I learned…by getting to know myself I started to understand that even though I have some of the best friends and family members; I am the only person I can truly count on. Once I realized that I wasn’t as disappointed anymore when things happened to me. It’s a hard lesson but it’s also an incredible blessing.
12. Don’t take pictures just to post.
Social media is truly not important. I feel like it’s a common habit to fall into especially as a blogger who loves Instagram but not everything has to be documented. People usually don’t really care about everything going on in someone else’s life anyways. I started to recognize that privacy is important and should be practiced more often.
13. Attachment leads to disappointment (duh).
I know this is a given but I really started to understand this lesson more this year. The more I started going into situations with zero expectations, the better I felt. This is another hard lesson that I want to continue to be aware of and practice in the new year.
14. Being with my family makes me the happiest.
I think this lesson became more relevant to me since I was away from my family this year traveling. I started to appreciated home and where I was from more once I met other people and saw other cities. Being with my family is home in itself and those connections make me the happiest and most likely will always make me the happiest.
15. Collect memories, not things.
This is a lesson I learned this summer. I made so many incredible memories while I traveled that will stay with me throughout my life. The memories I made have a greater value than any souvenir I could have bought.
16. Be patient with all things.
Patience is definitely not one of my strengths. But this year I started to learn that when I am patient, eventually good things will come. There is so much uncertainty in life but I want to be patient with all things: love, school, my future. Being patient will allow me to enjoy the present rather than worrying about the future.
17. It’s about the effort you put into the process not about the end outcome.
This is another hard lesson. I think it was common for me to stress about the end outcome of a situation rather than focusing on the process to get to the end. Usually, the effort I put into the process will determine the end outcome in most cases. It’s similar to being present in the moment rather than worrying about the future.
New Zealand was full of adventure!! Collectively, throughout the three weeks I did more adventurous activities than I ever have! I wanted to share my favorites to keep in mind if you are ever traveling throughout New Zealand:
1. Jumping off the Sky Tower – Auckland, New Zealand
Jumping off the Sky Tower was an incredible experience! It’s one of Auckland’s favorite activities for tourists. The jump isn’t like a free fall at all, the harness keeps you stable and tight the whole fall…which is only 10 seconds. The view of the city is breathtaking from this high up!
2. Snorkeling at Poor Knights Island- Tutukaka, New Zealand
I didn’t expect to enjoy snorkeling but it was a great experience! The fish are amazing at the Poor Knights Island. I was able to swim through multiple school of fish and touch jellyfish!
3. Tongariro Alpine Crossing Hike- Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand
I know I’ve talked about this hike in a previous post but this was definitely my favorite memory/experience from the whole trip!
4. Hooker Valley Track- Mount Cook, New Zealand
This hike was shorter and less intense than the Tongariro Alpine Crossing but just as beautiful! This hike was on the South Island which allowed me to experience the amazing Southern alps New Zealand offers.
5. Ziplining through the Ancient Forest- Rotorua, New Zealand
Ziplining through the Ancient Forest was such an experience. It felt so freeing to be gliding above huge trees. My friends and I wanted to zipline all day, it wasn’t long enough!
6. Horseback Riding- Rotorua, New Zealand
I have never rode a horse before so this was a new exciting experience for me and one that I loved! The views from the trek felt unreal and being on horseback made the afternoon truly feel like a fairytale.
For the last two weeks I’ve been traveling throughout New Zealand. The whole experience has been incredible so far and I’m unbelievably thankful for the opportunity. While I’ve been in this beautiful country a lot of my friends and family back home have been commenting on my pictures and craving to know about every new experience I encounter. Because of this, over the past few days I’ve done a lot of reflecting about my travel experiences over the summer and right now. I think it’s too easy to believe a person has a perfect life or is constantly having the best time. With all of the social media constantly presented to us everyday, it is easy to make your life appear to be something it is not. This is concerning to me for many reasons. However, this is not to take away from the gratitude I feel from traveling; it’s simply to point out that just because a person’s life appears to be amazing, a picture does not reflect everything. Therefore, I want to introduce a new category to my blog called: Travel Talk. This will focus on reflections about my travel experiences that people may not see by looking at one of my edited photos.
So to begin…I’m currently traveling through New Zealand in a large group with fellow peers from my home university. Traveling in a large group is never easy. There are days when I want to separate from the group completely because I’m so irritated. And there are days I am thankful to have company. There are days when we have a long bus ride and have to stop for lunch at a McDonald’s or a grocery store because we are in a rush. And there are days where we have the chance to find a nice authentic restaurant with great wine and food. There are days where there isn’t any wifi or service which prevents me from talking with my loved one back home. And there are days where my hostel has the best wifi imaginable. There are days where I feel annoyed, angry, and homesick. And there are days where I am overwhelmed with gratitude, happiness, and peace.
All of these feelings and experiences are normal for any traveler. Yet, the negative experiences are something that is never discussed or presented. It’s important to remember that nobody’s life is perfect. Everyone experiences a range of emotions even while traveling in a beautiful place. There is nothing to be ashamed of for feeling low sometimes. It’s also perfectly fine to admit that even though this trip has been incredible so far, it hasn’t always been fun. I believe it’s important to look at the bigger picture when I find myself feeling down. Yes I may feel homesick some days but I’m in New Zealand right now!! Which is a place I never imagined myself traveling to.
This is a picture of me in Queenstown with a beautiful view from the Skyline restaurant. What you didn’t know: the food was terrible!
This is a picture of me hiking on the Hooker Valley trail which was one of my favorite hikes. What you didn’t know: At this point in the trip I hadn’t been able to do laundry so the clothes I’m wearing were already dirty.
Greetings from New Zealand! I’ve had trouble finding reliable wifi so unfortunately I haven’t been able to write a blog post. This past week has been incredible! I’ve done a lot of adventous activities. So far my favorite has been a 10 mile hike on the Tongariro Alpine Trek. The views from the trek were breath taking. I’ve never seen anything like it before, it felt like another world.
I was fortunate enough to travel a lot this summer and recently I’ve been thinking about all of the experiences and memories I had. Everywhere I went was special but there are certain places that make me feel happiest when I look back on the pictures. I decided to share a list of my top 5 favorite travel destinations from this summer:
skylarbeck.com 