During my morning commute I saw a bumper sticker that said “What You Do Matters”. It resonated with me for a variety of reasons, and it was a good reminder as I work towards my personal and professional goals. As I think about why I started Travel and Write Today, and the direction it is taking, I start to question why I started it in the first place, and if I want to continue with it.  What is the purpose? What is the goal? I am still not quite sure where this will lead, but one thing that I do know is that what I do matters – what we all do matters. Whether you’re inspiring hundreds or just a few, whether you’re teaching others, providing travel options, or offering words of wisdom and beautiful photographs – it all matters. Keep doing what you’re doing.

In thinking about the New Year ahead I am starting to focus on the content for this blog, and on my various writing projects – both fiction and nonfiction.  I am always continuing to work on my Instagram and Twitter content, but I plan to write more often on this page, as well. I want this blog to be a few different things – a space to write about my journey – as a writer, traveler, and just as a human being, and a place to share our favorite travel spots – where to go for the best coffee and made-to-order donuts, which restaurants are the best for kids or date nights, and which hotels are the best for families or romantic getaways. I think this blog can be all of this, and that is my goal over the next year. I would love for you all to learn a little more about me through my writing, and through our travels. Please continue to follow along as I work to make this blog into what I’d like it to be.

Along with wanting to be a writer, I had always wanted to be a teacher. I could visualize myself standing in front of the classroom, and I dreamed of one day having my name on the students’ schedules that they received over the summer.  I worked hard to achieve that goal, and taught for years, but it never felt right. It is difficult to be on a path, and then make a drastic change mid-course. What will people say? How will I explain? Sometimes we need to do what feels right regardless of the comments, judgments, and criticisms of others. Sometimes we are led down a path because it will bring us elsewhere.  What we thought was the destination is merely a pit-stop. Life takes us down different paths for a reason. I’ve always wanted to work in a profession/field where I believed my skills were being utilized, where I felt passionate about the mission and values of the organization, where I felt fulfilled, and most importantly, where I felt like I was respected and making a difference.  Work is such a large part of our lives – it should not just be a place where you do not dread coming in, but where you feel rewarded, respected, and valued – where you actually enjoy being there. My goal has been to maybe not love work (all the time), but to really, really like it. To feel like I am doing great work, while taking the time to pursue my passions through side projects.  Since I left teaching, years ago, I’ve made many changes in my professional life – I’ve taken many leaps of faith, trusted my instincts, and went into uncharted waters.  I felt calm each time I made a decision, which I believe means I made the right choices at the time.  I walked away from something I worked hard to attain, and decided to start again.

The same goes for starting Travel and Write Today — I don’t know where this path will lead, but it felt like the right decision to get started.

In thinking about goals and dreams, I start to think about my reasons for starting my Instagram page and this blog.  What am I hoping for…? I have many reasons for starting, but often get overwhelmed with how long it can take to reach a goal. I am not even sure where this will lead, and I am not even sure it matters – what truly matters is that I am doing something every day that brings me closer to my goals, focusing on one step at a time. There are many different paths I can see this taking, but for me in this moment, it is about sharing my experiences, recommendations, a few inspiring words, and photographs from places near and far. What’s important is that I am sharing the message that you need to stop putting things off, and you need to start doing the things you want to do today.  Maybe that’s more important than the outcome, maybe this should be the goal.

It’s important to me to do something I love every single day — whether it’s as simple as researching new spots in New England, reading a few chapters (or even pages) of a book, time with close friends, watching a few minutes of a favorite show, or writing my next blog post.  There are things that I easily find time for — morning coffee, family time, work related to my day job, thinking about our next getaway, finding beauty in my own backyard, and my Instagram page. The question is: How do you find time to fit in your passions and your hobbies? Do you wake up early before the sun rises? Do you stay up late into the night? I always want to make sure that I am listening to my own words about doing something today.

I like to get up early in the morning — hours before I need to be anywhere.  I will have a cup of coffee with a book or journal — I’ll also have my computer, to research and plan, and my blog page is always open and ready for the next post. This is when I spend the most time writing. I feel like my head is clear and the words flow; it’s before I need to look at the to-do list. I’m making the effort to write every single day — whenever I find the time, even if it is during my lunch break or just before going to bed. Like I’ve said in my previous post, if you want to be a writer you write.  You make the time.  The things that I am most passionate about, are also tied to my own personal and professional goals. I know that I need to always make the time to do the things I love — it’s that important.

When do you find the time to do the things you love today, whatever your something is…(doesn’t have to be traveling or writing)?

How do you decide where to go on your next vacation? What are the questions you ask and check-boxes you mark off while making your decision?

• Does the hotel/city need to be family-friendly?
• Are you looking for a romantic getaway?
• Do you want to return to a favorite spot or would you prefer to explore a new destination?
• Do you want to travel by car, plane, train, etc.?
• Are you deciding based on activities/events or around restaurants and shopping? Or both?
• Are you looking for a budget-friendly trip or an extravagant getaway?
• Are you going with friends or family?
• Are you scheduling your vacation around certain hotels or beaches?

One of the biggest factors for me when deciding where to go is if I want to return to a place I love, or explore a new town or city. There is something to be said about returning to a familiar location — you know your favorite coffee shops, the closest bookstores, and the best beaches, you know the restaurants serving the best brunch in town, and the ones that are delicious, but fly under the radar. There is a sense of home, peace, and comfort when you arrive, and you feel like you and this place are old friends.

There is also something exciting about driving into a new town, landing at an airport, or pulling into a train station in a place you’ve never been. You’re about to find your favorite spots, as you pore over travel books, and read and re-read restaurant reviews.  You’re about to become acquainted with new baristas and bartenders, and you’re steps away from falling in love with sunrises while visiting new beaches and parks. There are shops you haven’t stepped into yet, and restaurants cooking your soon-to-be favorite dinner and pouring a glass of red. Everything is new and exciting, and will eventually become old and familiar, and possibly another go-to spot when you’re planning your next vacation.

We like to alternate between visiting favorite spots, and going somewhere new, but eventually you find so many you love that it makes it hard to decide. Visiting new towns in the same state helps to bring something new and exciting to the comfortable and familiar — this can help make deciding a little easier. How do you decide between a place you love, and someplace you’ve never been?

While at work today, IT needed remote access to my laptop. The first thing he said when he saw my screen was “Wow, what a beautiful place – where is that located?”. My desktop wallpaper is a picture of the Don Cesar Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. We started talking about the hotel, and about this beautiful stretch of beach in St. Pete. The tech had never heard of it before, but I am sure he will start doing some research. He started quietly working on my computer, and then he said “We were just in New York City over the weekend visiting a friend”.  We started talking about some of the restaurants and rooftop bars he visited, and how great of a place NYC is — all it took was me asking “What did you do while you were in NYC?”, and his voice instantly sounded happier. It seemed like for just a few moments he wasn’t focused on his work day, but rather on the adventure he had over the weekend.  This was my way of traveling today.

Strangely, my computer was stuck on airplane mode, and we both had the same thought – that the universe was trying to tell me it was time to start planning the next getaway.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” – Ernest Hemingway

For as long as I can remember I’ve considered myself a writer. I’ve had one poem in a collection, and other than that the only people allowed to read my work were my family members, close friends, educators, and students. Until now. I’ve always believed that if you want to be a writer, you write. This makes you a writer. If you sit down and put pen to paper, you are a writer. If you open your journal to reflect on the day, the years, your concerns, your to-do lists, your goals — you are a writer. You don’t need to be published, but you do need to write. Putting myself out there has been scary for me, but I feel like it is time. Writing, traveling, books, music, poetry, and even favorite movies and shows, have been a topic of conversation on a nearly constant basis since I was a child. I’ve always loved the written word, and I’ve kept most of what I’ve written hidden away, out of fear. I am starting to realize that what I put out there doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be authentic.

I have notebooks filled with poetry, personal thoughts, observations from train rides and the airport, experiences during road trips, thoughts on concerts and music festivals, and all things travel — favorite spots, hotel recommendations, and favorite memories — it’s time to stop putting all my writing in boxes and bins, and it’s time to start sharing my experiences with others. My hope is that it will inspire others to put themselves out there, as well — and that it will inspire others to start planning their next adventure.

Like I said, my writing doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be real…