Reflecting on Purpose, Fulfillment and Blogging

Whew — what a year! I took nearly a year off from writing [about traveling, that is] to start a new [and really challenging] career and plan a wedding [even more challenging], but I’m back [as a Mrs. this time] and more focused than ever – on traveling and writing!  I also took this time to reflect on the overall purpose of Anchored Adventure Blog and why it is so special to me. Hear me out on this one …

Goals and Intention

My goal from the beginning has been to inspire those around me to plan an adventure of their own — whatever and wherever that may be. I hope my guides and my stories create a fire in your belly to explore parts of the world you haven’t been to or maybe haven’t even thought of; to actually use your vacation days instead of rolling them over,  and to help you plan for a trip financially and logistically. And then, as a result, create memories from experiences you’ll remember and share forever.

My first travel article

The first travel article I remember writing was in 2001. I was 10 years old. Back then, my dad would take our family on his work trips and told us it was a family vacation [ brilliant ]. I journaled about our experiences in San Antonio — walking through the Alamo, riding horses while wearing my fabulous new cowgirl hat, the amazing hotel arcade and sneaking into my dad’s employer’s cocktail party to get a Shirley Temple … How ironic that I now work for the same company?!

I brought my journal to class the following week and shared my adventures with my classmates. I felt so alive.

Social Media Disappointment

The beauty of social media is the ability to quickly spread a message to hundreds, thousands — heck, even millions — of people. But simply sharing a heavily-photoshopped picture of a magnificent mountain in Switzerland isn’t going to bring me the fulfillment I felt in my fifth-grade class, and it certainly isn’t going to help you plan a trip to the beautiful Swiss Alps.

And while I certainly will use a variety of channels to share my blog posts, my hope is the content within this blog sparks action.

Go After What You Want

Don’t wait. Go after what you want. Now. Retirement is not guaranteed. Heck, our health isn’t guaranteed. Then how will you hike the Swiss Alps?

Go out and experience the world. Plan it for the immediate future. Create memories with the people you love, because that’s what will last a lifetime.

That cowgirl hat — 18 years later — is sitting on the top shelf of my closet and collecting dust, but it still gives me warm fuzzies. I am so grateful I shared those memories with my family. That is what matters in life — not likes, not comments, not your popularity on the interwebs.  Real relationships. Real people. 

Cheers to all the adventures ahead — whatever they may be! I am so excited to share mine with you and even more excited to learn about yours.

Happy Adventures!

P.s., I read today humans now have an average attention span of eight seconds — EIGHT SECONDS — so if you read this far, bless you.