The past year has been pretty life changing, which is why I’ve decided to chronicle 5 things that 2011 brought me. From a new career to a better viewpoint on life, here is Megan’s thankful list.
Bohemian Trails
April 2012 marks the one-year anniversary of Bohemian Trails being up and running. Although I had lazily talked about starting a travel website for months, it wasn’t until I returned from my trip to Egypt in early 2011 (weeks before the riots broke out) that I decided to seriously consider making this recurring thought a reality. Finding it hard to keep up with my fashion writing in between a full-time job at a record label and parties that were a nightly event, I knew something had to give. After my company did another round of lay-offs (a frequent occurrence) it was my time to go. Surprisingly, this was the kick-start I needed and instead of moping around I dedicated my now open schedule to creating something I was proud of.
Freelance Work
Although not always the case, the last few months I’ve had a slew of jobs roll my way and luckily, most of them are travel related. Two that I’ll mention are Jetsetter and Northstar Travel Media. I’ve also begun consulting for a few companies on social media tactics and community outreach. Turns out my two years working in social media and digital marketing for music paid off. One of my favorite projects this year has been updating a New York City guidebook. This means I get to determine what bars, restaurants, club, etc. make it into the pages.
Travel
There should be no surprise that travel has made it onto my list. 2011 started off with a two-week trip to Egypt and ended with a press trip to Mexico and a personal trip to Chile and Argentina for about a month. Visiting Egypt has been on my bucket list since I first watched Aladdin woo Jasmine on the magic carpet ride and as I had hoped, this beautiful country exceeded my expectations. My trip to Los Cabos, Mexico was adventure packed, with a horse gallop on a deserted beach, a swim with a “Macho” dolphin, an underwater snorkeling excursion and a tiring kayaking workout. The ocean view from my balcony wasn’t bad either. My trip to South America was heavily focused on local culture and nature. Highlights include Valparaiso, wine tasting in Santa Cruz, and visiting four aboriginal towns in Jujuy, Argentina.
Global Community
Coming from both the music and fashion industries, I’ve met my fare share of talented and humble people. I’ve also met some not-so-nice people so when I decided to dedicate myself to creating Bohemian Trails, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After attending several travel-related events in New York City I continue to be overwhelmed by how supportive and friendly the community has been to me and to each other. Perhaps it’s our shared love for travel and our common goal of success that ties us together but whatever it is, this is an element of the community that has helped me stay focused, happy and motivated.
Love
I’m putting this last not because it’s the least important but because I don’t want to bore people with my tales of romance. Although a private person by nature, I managed to fall in love this year and it has made my life so much more meaningful. Those who know me personally know that I rarely get crushes and am completely clueless when it comes to picking up on love interest signals. As it turned out, I met this person at my very first travel industry event and I guess you can say that sparks flew – actually there were fireworks involved since we officially began dating on the 4th of July.
Happy Trails!
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