Becoming Who You Want To Be.
Journey of Self Discovery.

What Does Your Journey of Self Discovery Look Like?

Did you actually become who you think you wanted to be when you “grew up”? Age ten, I wanted to be a dancer. Although I did not become a professional dancer, nonetheless I still enjoy dancing. I now understand my journey and am here to share with you my discoveries.

Life goes on, I still enjoy spontaneous moments on the dance floor, or alone in the kitchen jamming to “You Rock My World”, by Michael Jackson. My age does not matter here. Home is the Emerald Coast of Florida, Santa Rosa Beach, where my love of the ocean lingered in various restaurants as a teenager, where I learned to love hospitality. Navigating my way through the salty air with a bikini always in hand, was a must due to the fact I was indeed a local. Bikini life was grand, and then in my late twenties an ah-ha moment happened for me.

Hospitality comes natural to me, it’s who I am. Call it “southern hospitality” if you will. Here I am in my late twenties at the time, in a loving relationship with a partner; a partner who became my favorite travel buddy. This relationship I was in led me to an abundance of opportunity and possibilities. Me, little miss sunshine, had never left the country before and not a clue what was just around the river bend. This relationship brought me to Israel for my first time out of the country, and that was just the beginning. First it was Israel, then the Caribbean’s, and that led us to a three month back-packing journey into Central America.

Yes, I bet you are wondering what this hospitable southerner was doing, such a brave soul to branch out of her element in a courageous way of back-packing through a third world country. Let me remind you, you are following along an optimistic and curious soul who wonders all the time. I know you want to hear more on Central America, so let me begin by saying it was nothing short of life altering.

So, the Central America journey started and the floodgates of passion and excitement rushed over me the whole way through. The list of experiences I endeavored could be put into short stories. I have photos, mental images not captured on film, and heartwarming memories to cherish forever. Who knows, those memories may be shared at a later time. For now, I will share the overall experience, which is about making connections.

What Does It Mean To Travel?

Why do you travel? There are several reasons for myself. Most important for me is to travel with intentions of making connections. Creating these experiences could be interpreted in a couple ways. The connection could be as simple as finding your favorite waterfall or hike, thus now connecting self to mother nature. Let’s take it a bit further. While visiting the waterfall, there is a fellow traveler exploring just like yourself. You then stop and ask a question or give a compliment, now what? That conversation leads to an invite to dinner at their home, because of course you met a local, and of course you want to experience the authenticity of the area. I wonder what could happen next.

You get the idea here. You guessed it, I am that traveler who is constantly making new friends. That is the type of traveler I am. I know it. Now the southern hospitality is shining bright and I cannot contain the excitement.

Connections from one thing can potentially lead to another and thus creating a ripple effect. Before you know it, you are strolling the black lava coastline of Costa Rica, and you run into your new friends from two countries back on your journey. Yes, we ended up having a beach day with their whole family. It was nothing short of pure joy. Definitely something to write about, and here I am sharing this intimate experience with you. Remind you, my intention of sharing this story is focused on the positives. I will not go into detail of how the car broke down, or how we missed our boat back to our pueblo. That is not the point. The point is, my partner and I made a connection with this family and we all created a memorable experience together. Now, tell me that doesn’t make you wonder.

Sharing my experiences about my travels is only part of this message. My traveling experience led me to knowing “what I want to be when I grow up”. I want to bring people together just as I had experienced on my travels time and time again. Not even a year after settling back in the states from extensive travel, my partner and I opened our home for fellow travelers to visit our beautiful beaches in Santa Rosa Beach Florida.

My partner and I’s commonality sided in our love for creating meaningful connections with strangers that became friends. Together we were live-in hosts on Airbnb who offered a safe space for others looking for accommodations. Our location was perfect being by the beach. Our condo was simple. We each brought our creative skills into staging the space for guests and our safety. Our first guest was from the UK who was on a holiday for education purposes. Half business and half pleasure.

Already we were attracting the “right” type of guest. After four years of this setup, the relationship ended and so did the live-in position. That is not where it ended for me. My journey of self discovery continues.

My curiosity and passion for tourism was only getting stronger. Fast forward a bit, I decided to get into property management. Property management was another ah-ha moment for me. I learned an abundance and saw a window of opportunity for myself. Knowing myself and how I desire to show up in this world led me to creating a name for myself as an independent short term rental consultant. My perspectives as a traveler, a guest, a homeowner, and from a professional standpoint is what sets me apart. Here I am running my own show and writing about my experiences, making connections, and hopefully expressing my passion for others, with you as my reader, in a way that inspires you to wonder.