Rolling With the Punches of 2020

Wow, can yall believe it…we finally made it to the end of 2020! The year we thought would never end, right?!

What an insane, crazy, wild, roller coaster we’ve been on this past year!!

I don’t think I’m alone when I started 2020 thinking, “This is gonna be my year!” It was going to be the year of checking off my number one bucket list item of solo backpacking through Europe. It was going to be the year of experiencing a million different cultures and learning so many new things about the world. It was going to be all about self-discovery and growth

……….and then a global pandemic happened.

I was on day 66 in Europe when the world basically ended. Well, that’s at least what it felt like. From spending the morning watching a gorgeous sunrise on the southern coast of Spain and then riding a rental scooter up and down the coast with my couchsurfing host, feeling like I was on top of the world, to then getting dozens of phone calls and messages that afternoon of people telling me this virus was getting bad and I really should make my way home soon… Life was literally so good, I thought everyone telling me to go home was crazy! From my perspective, there was absolutely nothing wrong in the entire world!

But, sadly, in short time, my world was turned completely upside down, and I understood what everyone was saying. Sitting in a coffee shop, working out the details of the car I was about to rent to roadtrip the coast of Spain, I got a call from my couchsurfing host telling me if I wanted to stay with him in Granada, I would need to get there that night because the next day, all of the roads were going to be closed and the city would be shutting down….WHAT?!?! I quickly Googled “Spain shutdown” and a million and a half articles popped up basically saying the entire country of Spain was going into lockdown in the next 24 hours.

To say I was heartbroken is an understatement. This is something I had been dreaming of for seven years. I had just had the best three months of my life and I could not wait to see what other adventures were in store for me over the next 8ish months. I felt like my European adventures had just started and I was in no way shape or form ready for them to come to an end. At all!

But sadly, I had no option. The world was shutting down right before my eyes and my options were to take a gamble and stay in Spain with nowhere to go and most likely get quarantined with people I didn’t know or I could go home and let everything calm down and make my way back once things were settled. With the help of my sister, I was able to get on a flight the next day and make it back safe and sound to my parent’s house in Louisiana (after an insane 73 hours of travel! Watch my journey here).

When sitting in the airport in Malaga waiting for my flight, after basically running out of tears from crying non-stop for 48 hours, I wrote a list of all of the positives of going home. It was so easy to focus on the bad and the heartbreak and the unfairness, but I learned quickly (well, more like a full day of self-pity), that it wasn’t getting me anywhere. Just focusing on the negatives of a situation just brings you down and keeps you from seeing all of the blessings it might hold.

So, after feeding the negativity for so long and just getting more and more upset, I finally told myself to suck it up and focus on all the good things that could come out of it. Some things on my list included: having time to work in the garden and cook with my mom, getting to spend quality time at home with my sister, hopefully getting a puppy, having time to relax for a minute after running around Europe nonstop for three months and having time for self-care, meditation, reading, cooking, and time to work on my blog and YouTube channel.

Making this list helped me to realize me going home from Europe, while heartbreaking, wasn’t the end of the world. And while it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for my year to look like, there were benefits to it and I was going to do my best to make the best out of it.

And honestly, it ended up being an incredible time! My mom, sister, dad, and I were able to spend so much quality time together throughout those five months. We did lots of cooking, cocktail making, movie watching, board game playing, at-home working out, and pool sitting. We hadn’t all gotten to spend that much time together probably since Kacy and I were still in high school. I am so so so grateful that I had a home and a family to come back to. I know I am truly blessed and they are honestly the reason I was able to get through lockdown.

During my time home, I was also able to work with my dad on the farm, which was another amazing blessing. First off, just to have a job during all of this was so fortunate. But it also gave me a look into my dad’s world. Being involved in so many sports and extracurricular activities throughout elementary and high school, I never really got to experience much on the farm with him. This time gave me a chance to see him in his element and see his passion for his crops really shine through and I will forever be grateful for having that cherished time with him.

With international travel restrictions not looking like they were going to be easing up any time soon, I started brainstorming other ways to keep my nomadic spirit alive and travel safely. With hostels and campgrounds being closed, and couchsurfing hosts not accepting guests, one of the best ways to travel safely and social distance was by traveling solo and having your own means for shelter. With vanlife becoming more acceptable throughout lockdown, I knew that was going to be my next adventure!

Thankfully, I hadn’t sold my beloved Ford Escape, Jack, before leaving for Europe, so I had a canvas to work with! I started watching every single YouTube video and reading every blog post about converting a small SUV into a camper van I could find. I had literally zero idea what I was doing, but with the help of my family and the internet, I was able to transform my little car into a place I would soon call home!

On August 5, I hit the road for what would soon become one of the greatest adventures I’ve ever embarked on. I was on the road for 117 days, drove 12,893 miles, and visited 31 states. Having such an extroverted personality, I was honestly pretty nervous about living in a car on my own, traveling the country during a pandemic where everything would be closed. However, I quickly learned that going on this adventure with just me, myself, and I would be the best thing I could ever do for myself.

I spent more time than I could have imagined journaling, meditating, working on my own self-care, and learning more about myself and my needs. Every aspect of my trip depended solely on me and my determination. Things wouldn’t happen unless I got out of bed and made them happen. I had lots of hard days, many many frustrating moments, and a fair number of mental breakdowns that I had to figure out and work through. Putting yourself in situations like this, you have two options: break down and give up or pick yourself up and keep going. It’s times like these that truly test your strength and force you to grow as a person.

Through this journey, I was able to see so much of the country I’ve never seen before and meet so many beautiful souls along the way. I could not even begin to count how many times I had to take a breath and think to myself, “How is this my life?!”. In those moments, I honestly could not believe how amazing life was. It made me appreciate every single small and simple blessing that this beautiful life offers. The nights where I would cook a simple meal over the fire, play a bit of guitar, then fall asleep under a vast sky of stars, those were the nights when my soul was on fire. They hold some of my absolute favorite memories and I am beyond blessed to have such an amazing, adventurous life.

I know this time of lockdown, quarantine, and uncertainty has been very difficult for some. I know being separated from our friends and family has made this time feel so lonely. I know so many of us miss the comfort of human touch, the fun of going out on the town, and the consistency of “normal life”, but if I have learned anything from this year it’s learning how to adapt.

During the lockdowns and shutdowns and the craziness of this past year, I think the universe is calling us to challenge ourselves. We have this time to let it make us or break us. We can use this time for personal growth or we can use it for laziness, it’s as simple as that.

There is no doubt, this whole situation has been hard for every single person in the world in some way or another. It is your choice how you adapt to it. It is your choice if you want to use this time for productivity and self-betterment or nothing. It is your choice to dwell on all the negatives or focus in on the positives.

Though my dreams for Europe came to an end, after lots of work, I was able to focus on a new dream and make the best out of the situation. That day in Spain when booking my flight to come home, I’m gonna be honest, I had so much negativity clouding my vision because I thought that nothing else I could do this year would even come close to as amazing as Europe would be….and it ended up being one of the single greatest years of my entire life!

I have learned this time and time again this year: life is all about rolling with the punches, taking what life throws at you and learning to adapt and make the best out of every situation. If I would have let the negativity take over and not found ways to continue to chase my travel dreams, I would have never built out my car, I would have never hit the road, and I would have never had some of the most beautiful moments of my entire life.

I hope that this year for you has been one of growth and joy and adapting. I hope that throughout all of this, you have found ways to stay positive and focus on all the blessings in your life. I hope that you have found ways to stay connected with your friends and family. I hope that you were able to make the best out of 2020 and it was an amazing year for you!

And if it wasn’t, if it was a hard year for you, and it felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong, I feel for you and I am sending you a huuugggeeee virtual hug! I hope this next year brings you new life and new blessings. That’s what New Years are for right?! For fresh starts and new beginnings. With this new year starting, I hope you are able to take this one by storm and make it your best one yet!

Did you have any big plans that had to change this year? What were they and how did you adapt to them? What’s some cool adventures you’ve gone on this year? I’d love to hear all your beautiful stories! They keep my inspired!

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