RECOLLECTIONS EN ROUTE: JULIE AND JULIA {AND ME}

Last night I watched Julie and Julia for the very first time. Before hopping into my {extremely uncomfortable} twin size bed, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I knew the film was about Julia Child… and some woman named Julie. I knew Meryl Streep played the lead. And I knew my mom liked it. What I didn’t realize was that the entire film centered around one woman’s blog. If I wasn’t interested before {let’s be real, cooking is quite low on my radar in terms of relevancy to my life}, I certainly was now. 

I felt nostalgic thinking back to when I first started my blog over two years ago. I remember anticipating those few hours, after chasing a three year old around the house all day {au pair life yo}, where I would dedicate myself to writing. And that’s all it was: writing.

There were no city guides, articulated itineraries, or photo diaries. It was just a string of words spilling out, usually uncontrollably – and a copious amount of over-saturated images. Most of the time I would simply write about what was on my mind that evening.

There was no planning involved, and I’m sure at the time, my mother was my only reader. But I didn’t care.

Since I started this journey of documenting my life en route, blogging has always remained a passion of mine. I’ve never done this in an attempt to make money – but I have thought about it. The truth is, blogging takes up a lot of time and energy – more so than I think anyone understands. So maybe one day I’ll make the jump and monetize. But, more than anything, I want to get back to word vomiting on my laptop {like I am now}.

Every blogger I’ve ever fallen in love with has incorporated a personal aspect into their content. Obviously I try and make each and every blog post personal on some level. That being said, I am starting to realize that I don’t continue to return to my favorite blogs solely based on their travel content. Therefore, I just want to loosen up a bit.

And remember to write occasionally… just to write.

We get so caught up in numbers these days. I hear about it from the YouTube community constantly, and now the travel bloggers are chiming in. Social media has taken over our lives, and I can admittedly say I’ve fallen victim to this as well. But sometimes, I just want to read about what someone is thinking about on a cloudy Monday, in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere South Korea, after eating two donuts {but cut up into tiny bits as in to trick said person into thinking they ate less}, as they wash it down with an iced coffee.

Because that’s real life.

And indulging in donuts as a form of ‘summer shredding’ is what someone may connect to in a way that makes them want to come back for more – blog posts, not donuts. Though, I won’t judge you if you do both.

So there we have it peeps. Some word vomit for your {insert day of the week here} afternoon. Watch this space for the next installment of Recollections en Route – I have a feeling this series will be making a reoccurring appearance in the coming months.

Speaking of appearances, you can expect some blog posts referencing my life in New York City soon, including a ‘One Year in NYC Vlog’ that I am currently finalizing. Following that we will continue on with South Korea, while incorporating the islands of Belize in there for good measure. I will begin editing my ‘Central America Vlog’ shortly to include it with that group, and from there on we are all caught up folks.

I wasn’t sure I would see the day that I dusted off all of the missing files from Europe and beyond, but we are almost there. From that point forward, it’s all current and up to date travel {which I know we are all partial to}. As always, thank you for following along on my journey en route around this big wide world.

And for nostalgic purposes, why not talk a walk down memory lane and look back on some of my most word-vomit-worthy posts from the early days? They are lacking direction, probably contain typos, but are still pure magic – enjoy.

The Girl Who Will Grow Up

Three Americans Walk Into a Bar

Coffee Dates

Pillowtalk

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