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12 Things I Learnt From 12 months of Freelancing as a Full Time Travel Blogger

 

 

Hi guys,

You lot seem to like it when I do personal posts rather than just constantly sharing write ups of my recent trips, so I thought I should break up all the recent cruise content and write about something which is a really popular topic at the moment: freelancing. It seems like every single blogger I know at the moment is quitting their job in order to become a full time freelancer and live the digital nomad life. This is obviously amazing as it seems our work lives are ever changing and creeping away from the standard 9-5 working week, and I would of course encourage everyone to follow their dreams and live their best lives, but there is also a side to freelancing that isn’t shared online, and a side which makes the freelance/nomad life a little less glamourous than Instagram shows it to be. I took the plunge myself and went freelance as a full time travel blogger two years ago but spent just a year doing that (amongst other things) before I realised I needed to make another life change at the age of 24. Some days I loved it, other days I hated it, but overall I’m so glad I did it. Here’s 12 things that I learnt during my 12 months of freelancing from September 2016 – September 2017, both the good, the bad and the ugly…

The flexibility is fantastic

One of the best things I loved about freelancing was the ability to be completely flexible all the time. By steering away from the standard 9-5 life I was able to fit more in to my day, and alter it to suit my needs. A typical day for me would be to wake up and get dressed and ready to start work by 10ish – I never worked in my pj’s and always made an effort to get changed even if I wasn’t leaving the house as this helped get my mind-set into work mode. I’d then work for 3-4 hours at home before breaking for lunch (30 mins to 1 hour depending on how busy I was) and then continued working (with breaks) until I got everything done. Sometimes it was a 6pm or 7pm finish, other days I woke up later and continued working until 9pm or 10pm. Although I typically worked longer hours than a usual 9-5 job, I didn’t really feel like I was over-working myself as I took regular breaks, was at home, didn’t have a commute and could pick up my work/emails whenever I wanted. I took my dog out for walks every day, spent time seeing friends and enjoyed being at home.

It’s really lonely

Probably the biggest downside to freelancing is the crippling loneliness that goes with it. Working in a lively estate agents from the ages of 18 – 23 made me realise how much I love people, and how much I thrive off a busy, fun environment. When I took all of that away, I started to realise that I don’t cope very well on my own. I get really low sometimes, and feel the need to constantly talk to someone when I feel that way, which is why having supportive colleagues around me is something I have always relied on and will always look for in future jobs. Some people are fine on their own and could spend days without seeing another soul, but I’m just not like that and don’t think I ever will be! Loneliness was definitely one of the reasons I didn’t freelance for longer, and I don’t feel ashamed to admit that.

 

 

You can work wherever you want

In the same way that the flexibility I mentioned above was hugely liberating, the fact I could work wherever I wanted (Wi-Fi permitting) was amazing and opened my eyes as to how different my working life could be without feeling the need to be trapped in an office. I wasn’t a digital nomad during my freelance life and was very much a ‘work from home’ kinda gal, but I do wish I’d have taken a few more trips in order to experience what it might be like to work on the road. I didn’t really experiment much with co-working or with trying out social office spaces and I could have worked from anywhere with Wi-Fi to be honest, but I found café’s quite distracting and preferred to sit at home with the telly on if I needed some noise in the background.

Not having a routine is hard

Something else which I struggled with was not having a set routine. Yes I know we all get bored of the 9-5 life, but when I have a set routine I know where I am with things and I find it easier to make decisions, get myself organised and get on with my day. Don’t get me wrong, I loved having a few lay in’s during the week and starting later than usual, but sometimes I’d find myself working til almost midnight and forgetting to take regular breaks because I was stressing about getting things done on time and meeting deadlines efficiently. I am good at being organised and self-disciplined, but not having a routine really threw me sometimes and I’ve since found I prefer to be in a set routine to help get my work/life balance on track.

You can say YES more

The thing I loved most about working for myself was the ability to say YES in circumstances I wouldn’t normally have been able to do so. I went on 3 press trips during my time freelancing, one was a long weekend in Hamburg but still would have required taking 2 days annual leave, and the other two were week long trips to Menorca and Switzerland, which would have required me taking over 12 days of annual leave. I went to PR events on a Tuesday night in London because I could get there and didn’t have to worry about rushing home to get an early night for work the next day. I scheduled in blog collabs on week-days when the place/city was generally quieter because not everyone was there on a weekend. I said yes to sooo many things and it made me so happy and content with life. I was more spontaneous, more fun and way more exciting than I was when I worked 9-5, and this is something I really miss about my freelance life!

 

 

Motivation isn’t always on tap

Again, something I struggled with and still do even now. Having the motivation to constantly write blog content, constantly pitch for new business and constantly find ways to make money when you’re freelancing is SO BLOODY DRAINING!! I found this really hard when I was working for myself and I wanted to give up all the time. Although I am good at being organised and self-disciplined, trying to stay motivated whilst not having the support of colleagues and a manager alongside you was really difficult for me. I ended up turning to social media to find support from fellow bloggers/freelancers and that did help, and I made a real effort to attend events, listen to webinars and get inspiration from joining in with Twitter chats and Facebook groups etc in order to combat the lack of motivation that I regularly suffered with.

You aren’t restricted by annual leave

Kinda like the point I made about saying YES more, this was another huge bonus of freelance life; the ability to go on loads of trips or to take days off without the restriction of crappy annual leave. I really really hate the fact that I only get 20 days of annual leave and it is something which makes me want to quit my job and freelance allll over again. I hate being restricted by leave, and think we should be encouraged to take time off and travel more, as long as we don’t fall behind with our work load of course, in order to obtain a better work/life balance. I really believe that I would work better if I worked slightly longer hours over 4 days instead of 5 and had one day a week off to catch up with life admin or to treat myself to a nice day out, or to spend time with friends and family. Working for myself gave me unlimited annual leave, as long as I got everything done that I needed to, and I do miss that aspect of freelance life.

You don’t get legal work perks

However, the big downside to being self-employed is the lack of support we get when we aren’t able to work. Being freelance means you don’t get sick pay, or compassionate leave or a pension. You don’t get paid holiday or childcare vouchers or paid time off for dentist/doctors/hospital appointments. I always took time off whenever I needed to for things like this, but obviously when I wasn’t working, I didn’t get paid. Time is money when you’re self-employed, and that saying couldn’t be more true! I also had to make a note of my income and expenditure and had to create monthly spreadsheets of my earnings and outgoings so I could keep an eye on things. I hired an accountant who helped me put my spreadsheets together into a tax return for HMRC by the time the deadline for self-assessments came around, and this was something I hadn’t even considered when setting up on my own. Luckily my dad is self-employed so he showed me a thing or two, and my A Level Business Studies came in handy, but there is so much legal stuff to think about when you’re self-employed and honestly it can be so stressful!

 

 

You have a better work/life balance

Working from home gave me such a good work/life balance and I really miss it sometimes. I miss just working from my sofa, without the need to commute to the office every day, and I loved wearing what I wanted and not putting make up on etc, I felt so free and it was really liberating. I loved being able to start and finish when I wanted, and sometimes when I was quiet I would only work for a few hours and then spend some time walking my dog, catching up with friends, or doing boring stuff like house work which I never get time to do during a full working week. I do miss having flexible working hours and allowing my home life to be more important than my work life, especially when the long days and hour long commute to and from my current job each day really starts to get me down.

Blogging alone isn’t enough, you must diversify

There are obviously some bigger bloggers out there who just blog all day and make a full time wage from it, but honestly, I have no idea how they are doing it or how that is even possible. During my 12 months as a full time travel blogger, I learnt pretty quickly that I absolutely had to diversify in order to make enough money to survive, and it was really tough at first. Being sent on press trips (with free accommodation and flights) is all good and well, but you don’t get a fee for being there, unless you do and I’m not aware of it! But writing content and promoting it on social media all day just isn’t enough to bring the pennies in, unless you’re writing 5 articles a week at over £100 a pop, the reality is you’ve got to find another way of making money. Before I even started going freelance I had a good think about this and realised that I wanted to use social media as my secret weapon, and started advertising my social media services on LinkedIn to try and gain my first clients. I was pretty lucky as my old boss saw I was advertising for clients and mentioned me to some of his friends at his local breakfast networking club, and within a couple of weeks I had 3 new clients from this alone. These new clients had friends/relatives who also needed social media help, so I gained 3 more clients from them, and then my uncle down in Essex needed some help, and before I knew it I had nearly 10 clients all needing my help and I was absolutely SNOWED UNDER! It was brilliant on the one hand, but overwhelming on the other and I soon realised I needed to prioritise my time in order to work to my full capacity and do a good job for each of my clients. As well as offering social media management, I also wrote freelance articles for a few online travel magazines and did some blogger mentoring too, charging a small amount of money to cover my time to give Skype lessons to newbie bloggers who wanted tips on growing your blog through your social channels. Without diversifying, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to stay freelance for as long as I did.

You learn loads of new skills

You have to juggle so many plates when you’re freelance, and this certainly helped me to develop skills I didn’t even know I needed before I took the plunge and quit my job. I had so many different roles to take on in order to make everything run smoothly, from blogger, writer and social media manager to PA, accountant and marketer. I had to learn how to market myself and generate new business, so networking events were crucial and I was constantly sending out email pitches too. I had to be my own PA and organise my diary, my time and schedule in meetings whenever I could. I had to learn how to create income and expenditure sheets and keep a log of what money was coming in and out so that, by the time my tax return was due, I could input it all correctly. All of these skills were imperative to making my job work, and I’m glad I was able to spin all these plates at once – it was tough, but it taught me to be determined, to be patient, and to never give up! Hopefully the skills I learnt during my freelance life will stand me in good stead for future employment and will show how diverse I can be as a candidate, and how much responsibility I’ve had to take on in the past.

 

 

Your salary isn’t consistent – you need savings

I’ll end on this because, after all, money makes the world go round, and it is the most important part of freelance life! During my 12 months of freelancing I was still living at home so that took the pressure off having to make a large amount of money each month as my outgoings were quite low (just my mums rent, my phone bill and my opticians bill which all come to approx. £230 a month). For the first couple of months I really didn’t have many clients at all and was only making around £300-£400 a month, which is obviously not enough to live on and I did end up dipping into my savings in order to support myself. I had around £4000 saved up when I went freelance and knew I didn’t really want to go down past the £3000 mark, but the money was there if I needed it and it was a comfort to know that. As I progressed with my freelance career, I picked up more and more clients and took on more and more work, but it wasn’t consistent: some months I would earn less than £500, some months I earnt over £1500! If you’re looking at going freelance and you need to have a certain amount of money coming in each month, bear this in mind before you take the plunge. Towards the end of my freelance life the work started to dry up a little and I lost a few clients due to circumstances beyond my control, including some using their own in-house marketing and others employing someone more local to work for them, so I was starting to panic and realised I needed more wages in order to get by. It was during this time that I got a part time job at a retail store and signed up for an 8hour (min) a week contract. I really loved working in retail again (for the first time since I was 17) and the short 4 hour shifts 3-4 times a week really helped to make me feel less lonely, and boosted my bank balance too. I soon became an accessories specialist and was put on regular delivery shifts (7am-1pm) which meant that I could still have a decent afternoon by the time I got home, but I had the possibility to say yes to loads more shifts and I took extra hours wherever I could to make more money. Some months I ended up doing 40+ hours week at the retail store, and then working up to 20 hours a week doing my freelance work. I was exhausted but I knew I had to keep making money so carried on for as long as I could, before I quit everything to take on my first job in the travel industry.

So as you can see, there are good and bad reasons to quit your job and pursue your dreams as a full time blogger/freelancer, and I certainly had a bit of a yo-yo year during my 12 months of trying it, but I learnt so much about myself and I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world. I got to spend more time at home, more time saying yes to stuff I would normally have to turn down, and I got to pursue one of my passions at a professional level. I would say the good outweighed the bad, but after 12 months I was more than ready to get back to the 9-5 life and have a proper routine again as this is something I really struggled with when I worked for myself. I missed the social element hugely and realised how much I thrive off others when I am in a lively environment. I’ve seen so many bloggers quit their jobs and travel the world as a digital nomad which is absolutely incredible and I am so inspired by their bravery, but equally I have seen people who, like myself, tried it and realised it wasn’t for them, and I’ve realised that that’s okay too. Whatever happens in your working life, it’s good to take a step back to assess what works for you, and what doesn’t. I have no idea what the next 12 months holds for me as I have been told my current job at a luxury villa rental firm is being made redundant in the new year, but after almost 18 months of office life I may well be ready for a change again by the time 2019 rolls around… I’ll be sure to post more life updates on my blog as and when I know myself exactly what is going on in my little life!

Love Jess x

 

 

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Thoughts from a Pituitary Patient: What It Feels Like To Live With an Invisible Illness

Hi everyone,

I’m sure you might have noticed that my content over the past few months has been really travel focussed, which is obviously a good thing given that I’m running a travel blog(!!), but I wanted to do something a little different today. I haven’t done any personal posts for a while, and, although I love writing about my trips, I’m conscious that churning out travel guides and hotel reviews will make my blog seem less informal and less ‘me’, so I wanted to inject a bit of personality into this post and put myself at the forefront of it. If you know me personally, or you’ve been following my blog/social media channels online, you’ll know that as well as being a travel blogger I am also a proud ambassador for The Pituitary Foundation, a small UK based charity which supports patients, and their families, who are suffering with a variety of pituitary related conditions including Cushings Disease, Diabetes Insipidus and Prolactinoma’s. I have the latter condition, which is basically a benign tumor on the pituitary gland in the brain, and was diagnosed 7 years ago as a young 18 year old girl. I first told you about my condition in this post 2 years ago, and have since shared my story with The Daily Mail and even wrote something for Contiki Holidays last summer about how to travel with an invisible illness, but it just so happens that October marks National Pituitary Awareness Month, so I thought now was the right time to give you another little insight in to my world, and what it’s really like to be a Prolactinoma sufferer on a daily basis…

 

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Today is National Rare Disease Day, so what better way to share my news about a new challenge I have set myself this year… last year I turned my town orange, the year before I ran a 5 mile fun run, and this year I'm going all out and CLIMBING A BLOODY MOUNTAIN!! 🏔 For those of you who don't know, I've been living with a condition called a prolactinoma for the past seven years. Put simply, a prolactinoma is a small tumor on the pituitary gland in the brain and it's something which affects me every day. Although I'm on life long medication, I still need to have tests, scans and consultations regularly throughout the year. After becoming an ambassador for The Pituitary Foundation last summer I'm trying to raise as much money and awareness as possible for a wonderful charity who have supported me every step of the way during my diagnosis. I'll be climbing Mount Snowdon in June with my wonderful friends and family in the shape of my mum, dad & my lovely friends Tiff and Flo (if shes better as she's currently poorly!!) and can't wait to take on my biggest challenge yet! I'm trying to raise as much as I can, so please donate if you are able to – no matter how big or small, every little helps! 💰 In order to kick start the fundraising I will donate 50p for every like that this status receives over the next 24 hours… go go go! Please help me raise some cash for an incredible charity who are fairly unknown in this country. Please read my story on my JustGiving page (link in comments) and donate whatever you can! Thank youuuuu! Lots of love, Jess and the Snowdon team 😘💖 xxx #pituitaryfoundation #pituitaryawareness #charity #fundraising #mountsnowdon #uk #charityevent #ambassador #justgiving #prolactinoma

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My Diagnosis

Back in 2011, when I was just 18 years old, I started to notice major changes in my body. I was tired all the time, had horrendous headaches every day, blurred vision and constant nausea, so I knew something wasn’t quite right. Weirdly, I started lactating from my breasts and I’d come home from sixth form with cotton wool pads stuffed down my bra because I was worried I’d have patches showing through my top. Up until that point I wasn’t overly worried, but when the lactation started that’s when I knew I had to see a doctor. Was I pregnant? Was I going through some strange hormonal condition? I had no idea and, at first, neither did the doctors! I had MRI scans, heart scans, blood tests, hormone tests and every kind of investigation you could think of. After endless tests, prods and scans I was passed between the hospital, GP surgery and MRI departments until I was finally diagnosed with my condition. At 18, I was told I had a tumor in my brain. The medical term is a Prolactinoma, which is a small (benign) growth on the pituitary gland in the brain. That doesn’t sound so scary when you break it down, but when you’re 18 years old the only words you hear are ‘brain’ and ‘tumor’ and hearing those words together in the same sentence truly scared the life out of me. I was immediately put on long term medication (Cabergoline) and told that I most likely would be on them for the rest of my life.

 

My Daily Symptoms

 

The following months were a blur, but I do remember my symptoms starting to disappear as the medication slowly worked its magic on my body. The headaches became less frequent, the blurred vision eased a little and the lactation pretty much stopped completely. Fast forward seven years and, whilst I still get headaches on a daily basis and still suffer with nausea, most of my original symptoms have now disappeared. The medication lowers the level of the prolactin hormone in my body and helps to keep it under control. Whilst the medication does reduce the size of the tumor and improves my day to day wellbeing, there are inevitably some side effects which do impact me daily. The tablets cause horrendous mood swings; some days I’m so low I can barely get out of bed and all I want to do is curl up in a ball and cry, other days I’m loving life and am as high as a kite! It’s ridiculous, it’s stressful and sometimes it’s really embarrassing. I would say 70% of the time I’m happy and I’m pretty content with life, but I do suffer with terribly low moods and there are genuinely days where I’m just on auto pilot and I’m merely existing, not living, and that’s really upsetting when you’re a bubbly, outgoing person like me who tries to live life to the full every day.

 

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So this morning while everyone was tucked up in their beds I woke up at 3.30am, took 3 ski lifts to a height of 3300 meters, and attempted to watch the sun rise from the top of one of the highest mountains in #Switzerland! Sadly the sky was too cloudy to see the sun come up, but what an amazing experience to be surrounded by so much snow! Whilst I was halfway up I began feeling really poorly and started suffering from one of my #pituitary related headaches, but this one was so bad I could barely open my eyes. After we started our descent and had breakfast in an igloo at 2900m I started to cry. I cried because I was in so much pain and I didn't know what to do to make it stop. And then I realised that I could either let it get me down and ruin my Swiss experience, or I could wrap up warm, push past the pain and try to make the most of every second of my journey. With the help of my wonderful new blogger friends I chose the latter option. Sometimes being poorly is unavoidable, but today I made the best out of a bad situation and still managed to have an incredible bucket list experience. Travelling forever leaves me speechless, and it'll always teach me to enjoy each moment, live each day and remember every second. 💖 #InLoveWithNendaz

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How I’m Affected

 

Sadly the medication affects my life in other ways, and one of the biggest worries it gives me is that I may not be able to have children or conceive naturally if I stay on the tablets. If I come off them though, my tumor will most likely grow and I’d be back to square one. This is something that plays on my mind daily, despite being nowhere near ready to settle down and have a family, all I’ve ever really wanted to do in life is be a mum, and it breaks my heart to think that this dream might never come true for me. As well as living with my condition, I also suffer with recurring cysts on my ovaries and found out at a recent ultrasound scan that I have a tilted womb – it’s totally back to front – great! So even if I can have kids, I think I’d have a pretty horrendous pregnancy/birth/life for those 9 months! Obviously I try to push this to the back of my mind as I am not ready to start a family yet, but I’m 25 and the reality now is that I do think about this every single day. On a day to day basis though, I just take things one day at a time and deal with the headaches/nausea/mood swings first before allowing myself to be overwhelmed with thinking about the future, and what that means for me and my condition.

 

My Fundraising

For the past 4 years I have taken part in a series of events to raise money for The Pituitary Foundation, and in doing so I have met sooo many people who suffer with the same or similar conditions to me, and who are in some way impacted by problems the pituitary gland can cause. In 2015 I ran the Big Fun Run in Milton Keynes and raised over £350 for the charity. In 2017 I was honoured to become an official charity ambassador and turned my local town orange for The Pituitary Foundation’s Go Orange Day, raising over £100 as well as capturing press coverage in 2 local newspapers. This year I took on my biggest challenge yet as I climbed Mount Snowdon and helped to raise a whopping £25,000 for the Foundation which is absolutely phenomenal and such an incredible achievement for the entire team – we got press coverage for this event too! To put it into perspective, £18,000 covers the yearly wages of an endocrinology nurse to be available at the end of the phone and to offer support for patients – without this money from fundraising, support simply cannot be offered to patients in need. Next year, I’m joining the Snowdon team again, but this time we’ll take on Ben Nevis and this will undoubtedly be the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I am more than ready for the challenge so BRING IT ON! I absolutely love raising money and awareness for The Pituitary Foundation, and for my little known condition, and will continue to be an ambassador for this fantastic charity for as long as they’ll have me!

 

 

 

My Outlook

 

My life nowadays consists of 3 monthly blood tests, 9 monthly eye tests, and annual check-ups at the hospital with my consultant to see if I am responding to the meds or if the tumor is growing. Things have pretty much remained the same for the past few years, but as I get older and my body continues to change, and as I inevitably discuss potential options for having children, I think I’ve still got a long road ahead and will continue to battle this condition for the rest of my life. If I want to come off the meds and want to consider surgery as a different option, this is something I can discuss with my consultant, but it involves evasive brain surgery (through my nose and up into my brain) which is something I am absolutely terrified of as it has dangerous implications and I will try to avoid at all costs! To look at me you may not ever think that anything was wrong with me, but that’s the trouble with living with an invisible illness – you can never see it, but it’s always there. My consultant and the endocrinology team at the Oxford Churchill Hospital (OCDEM Ward) are fantastic and I wouldn’t have got through the past 7 years without them! As well as that, the team at The Pituitary Foundation have been a constant source of help and comfort throughout my diagnosis and ongoing struggle, and I couldn’t have been more thankful for their support over the past 7 years. Not many people know about the charity, or the conditions that can affect pituitary glands, so I’m extremely proud to be an ambassador for them and will continue to raise awareness and money for them for as long as I can!

 

I hope this honest and personal post gives you a little insight as to what it feels like to be part of my world. It’s not all doom and gloom, I promise! I have good days and bad days, I take each day as it comes, and I always try to remain positive despite sometimes feeling like my world is caving in around me. I’ve learnt to live with my condition, and cope with it in the best way possible, whilst always putting things into perspective and reminding myself that people are suffering with far worse conditions on a daily basis. I’m stuck with this condition for life, but I’m sure as hell not gonna let it hold me back! I’ve worked hard since the age of 16, bought my first car, ran my own business, owned a successful travel blog and travelled to 25 countries, with many more on my bucket list! I’ve helicoptered over the Grand Canyon, celebrated Independence Day in New York, done extreme water sports in Menorca, climbed Mount Verbier in Switzerland and ticked sooo many physical achievements off my ever expanding bucket list. I will not be defined by my illness, and I will not let it hold me back! A huuuuge thank you again to the fantastic team at The Pituitary Foundation – I am honoured to be an ambassador for your incredible charity, and I hope I can continue to work alongside you for years to come. I also want to thank my amazing family and friends who continue to support me in every way possible, especially my amazing mum who is my absolute rock and the only person who can pick me up when I’m down – sometimes she literally has to pick me up off the floor when I’m crying and tell me that it’s all going to be okay. Sometimes I don’t believe her, but I know things will work out in the end, and if this post helps even one person suffering with this condition too, then it will have all been worth it.

Love Jess x

 

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🏃‍♀️WE DID IT! 🏃‍♀️ What an amazing day!!! 33000 steps, 4000 calories burnt, 18 kilometres walked and 7 hours long! One of the best things I've ever done, and definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, both physically and mentally. 🏔 Didn't think I would make it up to the top at one point but these amazing people got me through!! Couldn't have wished for a better group of people to climb #Snowdon with, and am hoping we've almost smashed our fundraising target! You can still donate if you want to 😘 Collectively our group have raised over £22000 so far for @pituitaryfoundation which is INCREDIBLE!! My illness gets me down sometimes, but when events like this bring people together I wouldn't change it for the world 🌍 https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jessica-bucks-team

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A Little Life Update: More Than Halfway Through 2018

Hi everyone,

I can’t believe we are well in to August now and are more than halfway through the year… when the hell did THAT happen?! It only seems a like yesterday we were welcoming 2018, and seeing as we’re the other side of the middle of it, I thought now would be a good idea for me to give you a little life update and reflect on everything that’s been happening in my world over the past 8 months. There have been lots of ups, a few downs, and plenty of things in between to make it a little more interesting. Here’s a little round up for you…

 

I climbed Mount Snowdon

 

 

Back in June I took on one of the biggest challenges of my life as I climbed the highest mountain in Wales for a very worthy cause. As some of you may know, I am a proud ambassador for The Pituitary Foundation, a little known charity who offer help and support to patients like me who suffer with pituitary related illnesses and long term medical conditions. You can read more about my condition, and how it impacts my life, on this blog post. As an ambassador for the charity, I am often asked to take part in events, and raise awareness for the charity and for the conditions that affect thousands of people without many of us even knowing. I gladly signed up to the Snowdon event, along with my parents, their friends, and one of my best friends too. Our little team of 6 joined a bigger team of 56 and on 22nd June we all hiked the biggest mountain in Wales. It was an amazing day, with the weather making it even better, and it was hands down one of the most challenging, most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. Together we helped to raise over £23500 for the Foundation which is an absolutely PHENOMENAL amount of money and I know that everyone at the charity have been overwhelmed with people’s generosity. We’ve already planned Ben Nevis for next May and I can’t wait to do a challenge like this allll over again!

 

 

I travelled to 5 countries

 

 

Since the beginning of the year I have been lucky enough to take 3 European trips, visiting 7 cities in total, and exploring 5 countries. I kick-started my 2018 travel with a week-long inter-railing trip to Paris, Luxembourg and Bruges over the Easter period, then headed to Pisa and Florence for a long weekend in April, before spending my bank holiday weekend in Rotterdam and Amsterdam at the end of May. Given that I haven’t left the country for 3 months now, I am welllll overdue my next trip and am excited to say that this time next week I will be on my first ever CRUISE! Now that I’m 25 I’m officially old, right? 😉 We’ll be setting sail from Dubrovnik before heading to Valletta, Sicily, Kefalonia and Kotor before finishing up back in the Croatian capital. If you have any tips for a first time cruiser please send them my way, I suffer with horrendous travel sickness (yes, ironic as I’m a travel blogger) so I’ll need all the help I can get!

 

I appeared on a dating show

 

 

So this is super random and not travel related at all, but last month I appeared on a dating show produced by Heart FM and it was SUCH a fun experience. I applied for their new show ‘Traffic Island’ where couples across the county were match-made with each other and asked to pair up. I was selected and matched with a guy called Joel; it was a totally blind date and I was told nothing about him other than his name and age! I had never gone on a completely blind date before so I thought I’d give it a go – I have nothing to lose and I love dating, so why not?! However, just an hour before the date I was told by the presenter and producer that Joel wasn’t turning up and couldn’t make it – I was fuuuuuming as I’d spent ages getting ready but I agreed to go and meet the show team anyway. Halfway through my interview, Joel turned up after all (to which I replied ‘YOU’RE LATE’) and we were left to enjoy what was left of the date! It was a really cool experience, and something I would definitely do again as it gave me a lot of confidence. Sadly Joel actually turned out not to be who I thought he was (aka a genuine guy, WHERE ARE THEY ALL?!) so I am back in the dating game but hey, another lesson learnt! You can watch the video here… cringe!

 

 

I’ve spent time trying to figure out exactly what I want from life

 

 

At the start of the year I didn’t think my life would take the direction it has now, but then life would be boring if it was straight forward, right?! Sadly my position at work is being made redundant, and I am currently in the process of deciding whether or not to take a new role in the company, or whether to just move on and look for something different. Or maybe I should just leave and go travelling and try the whole full-time blogging thing again. My mind is soooo blurred at the moment and I have no idea what to do for the best, but I am hoping that I get some clarification over the next few weeks and can decide what to do with the next chapter of my life. Part of me wants to secure another role as financially I want to be in the position to look at buying a house in the next couple of years, but the other part of me is yearning to just escape, run away from the 9-5 office routine and jump on a plane to Australia to live my life and enjoy being young and care-free. Everyone I have spoken to has told me to do the latter, but I really do want to be a grown up with a house sometime soon. We’ll see what happens, but for now I am just taking things in my stride and trusting fate to do its thing for me. Things always work out just right in the end.

 

So despite the best part of 2018 having come and gone in what feels like only a couple of weeks, I would say I’ve had a pretty crazy start to the year and can only see it getting better from now until Christmas – even though I don’t want to think about the C word right now! Next week I am off on my first ever cruise which will see me tick 5 countries (and 3 new ones) off in one week, and I’ve also got some family events and some UK trips planned too. I’ll be sure to do a 2018 round up at the end of the year so will reflect more then, but for now happy summer everyone!

Love Jess x

 

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My 2018 Destination Bucket List

 

So I know we are well and truly in to 2018 now, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my upcoming travel plans for the year ahead and am itching to get away! I haven’t travelled since last September, just before I started my new full time job, which is a really long time for someone who usually takes at least one trip a month. I am restricted to annual leave this year for the first time since 2016, so I know it’s going to be tricky to tick lots off my bucket list, but if anyone can be cheeky and use their AL to the max then it’s most definitely me 😉 So after all this travel talk I was caught by surprise when the guys over at Destination2 challenged me to put together my ultimate 2018 bucket list and, naturally, I jumped at the chance to share my upcoming bucket list plans with you all…

 

Paris, France

 

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So today I booked my hotel for beautiful #Paris which is the first stop on my upcoming European inter-railing adventure and it feels oh so real now! 🚂 My sister and I are heading to the French capital to devour allllll the croissants, walk along the many winding streets and soak up epic views like this from the top of the Eiffel Tower 🗼 This photo was taken on my first and only visit to the city back in 2013 when I had just one full day there to whizz around like a crazy person and see as much as I possibly could whilst on a day trip from Disneyland 🏰 This time round I plan on seeing the sights, taking strolls along the Seine and finding the most Instagrammable places in town 📸 Have you been to the city of love before? Send me your recommendations! 🇫🇷 #IgersParis #IgersFrance #VisitFrance #VisitParis #JessDoesEurope

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My first trip of 2018 will take me to the City of Love, beautiful Paris, somewhere I’ve been before but only for a day trip and I absolutely cannot WAIT to go back! I spent my first visit running around like a headless chicken trying to see the sights and tick off as much as possible, but there is SO much to see and do that it obviously can’t be done in such little time. I’m heading to Paris at the start of April with my sister as we hop on the Eurostar from London and embark upon an inter-railing adventure that’ll take us to France, Luxembourg and Belgium. I actually haven’t left the country since going back to full time work in September and I am literally just itching to get away with every day that passes. Kick-starting my inter-railing adventure in Paris will be so much fun, and a great start to the trip. We’re staying close to the River Seine and the Notre Dame, so we are hoping to tick off those as well as wander down the Champs Elysee, see the Arc de Triomph, climb the Eiffel Tower and visit The Louvre, the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge too. I cant wait to get back to the French capital and I couldn’t think of a better place to kick off my 2018 travel plans.

 

Bruges, Belgium

 

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It's that time of year where I'm thinking of my upcoming travel plans for 2018 and I've got such itchy feet! 👣 I haven't been out the country since September, which is soooo long for me especially as I've spent the past year and a half taking at least 1 trip a month! I'm starting to go abit crazy as I haven't travelled for so long, and I just want to hop on a plane, or train, and get back to exploring ✈️🚂🌍 I don't have long to wait until my first trip of the year though as I'm going interrailing (again) over the Easter period. My sister and I are starting in #Paris and ending up in the beautiful Belgian city of #Bruges – somewhere I have wanted to visit for agessss! 🇧🇪 We can't wait to wander round the old town, see the beautiful belfry and eat allll the chocolate waffles 😋 Have you ever been to Bruges before? Send me all your tips! 📸 – my lovely pal @ambermarie1912 . . . #travel #travelblogger #travelblog #interrailing #europe #city #citybreak #travelgram #instatravel #darlingescapes #explore #travelmoment #igersbruges #brugge #belgium #igerseurope

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After visiting Paris and Luxembourg, the third and final stop of my inter-railing adventure will be the fairytale Belgian city of Bruges and I am equally as excited for this place as I am for Paris. There’s just something about Bruges which looks so magical, especially the gothic architecture, the picturesque river and the vibrant market square. We plan to hit up the museums, wander along the river and check out the historic buildings including the City Hall, Belfry, Basilica of the Holy Blood Church and St Salvator’s Cathedral. We’re going to be eating copious amounts of crepes and waffles and chocolate whilst we’re there and plan on doing this every single day! We’re also hoping we might be able to squeeze in quick day trips to both Ghent and Brussels too whilst we are on the way back to London via the Eurostar, as I’ve heard great things about both cities and it’s always nice to tick even MORE things off my ever expanding bucket list!

 

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

 

 

After spending a week inter-railing in April, my next trip at the end of May will take me on my first visit to the Netherlands and I’m looking forward to visiting my 23rd country! I’ll be in Rotterdam for 3 nights for the annual Traverse conference, a fantastic event which connects brands and bloggers from all over the world. The final schedule for the conference hasn’t been released yet, but I’ll be at the opening party on the Friday night, then at the conference all weekend before flying home on bank holiday Monday. I haven’t heard  a lot about Rotterdam so I have no idea what to expect but I know it’s a super cool city with lots to see and do. I’m actually using the Eurostar AGAIN on this trip as I’ll be spending one day and one night in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam before heading over to Holland’s second city. I have wanted to visit Amsterdam for soooo long and I’m super excited I’ll be there this year, even if it is only for a short amount of time!

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

 

I’ll be having a few months break in between my trips in May and then subsequently in August, when I’ll be taking my first EVER cruise! Ahhh I’m both nervous and excited in equal measure as I get ridiculously travel sick (especially on boats) but I’m hoping that the ship will be so huge I won’t feel anything and I’ll be completely fine… *fingers crossed!* My cruise is a trip around the med and, after starting in Croatia, I’ll be heading to Malta, Sicily, Greece and Montenegro. I am so intrigued as to what the cruise will be like and how I will find it, especially as I’ve never spent any length of time at sea before! I’m looking forward to lots of sun, sea, food and drink though as I spend a whole seven days relaxing. Kicking off in Croatia will be wonderful and Dubrovnik, with its ancient city walls and historic buildings, is somewhere I’ve been dying to visit.

 

Valletta, Malta

 

 

The second stop of my cruise will the Maltese capital of Valletta and I’ve heard so many great things about this place. Listed as the 2018 European Capital of Culture, I think Malta is seriously underrated and is the perfect place for a quirky, alternative city break. Like with most of the places on my cruise, I only have one full day to explore but I’m definitely going to walk around the city walls and see as much as I can. There will be sun, sea, history and culture aplenty in Valletta and it’ll be another new country for me to tick off too. My cruise is a family holiday with 13 of my crazy family members and I am sooo excited for us to all be together and make tonnes of new memories!

 

Mykonos, Greece

 

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This is a little different to my last few posts, but are you dreaming of blue skies, bright sunshine and warm sands? Yep, me too! ☀️Luckily there's a brand new, wanderlust inducing post on the blog coming soon and it's all about my 2018 Bucketlist 🌍The list includes multiple city breaks round Europe, a Mediterranean cruise and I've been daydreaming about a beach holiday to somewhere like this beautiful place.. hands up who's been to #Mykonos before?! 🙋 Sadly I haven't yet, but I'm hoping to visit this Greek gem one day! 😍 📸- my work BFF @schipps88 . . . #travel #travelblog #travelblogger #wanderlust #worlderlust #inspo #inspire #travelgram #instago #travelphotography #beautifuldestinations #darlingescapes #ig_captures #europe #greece #mykonos #igersmykonos #igersgreece #luxurytravel #travelmoment #tourism #igtourism #travelbug #instatravel #instapassport #europe_vacations #turismo

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The Greek party capital and somewhere that is fast becoming the new Ibiza, Mykonos is Europe’s answer to paradise. With it’s crystal clear turquoise waters, white sand beaches and endless infinity pools, Mykonos has it all. Since starting my new job as a villa rental co-ordinator, Mykonos is one of the destinations I look after and I’m hoping that I might be able to go on a fam trip to the island this year to inspect our existing villa portfolio. There’s something about the Greek island that just screams luxury and I would love to spend a few days exploring the island and seeing what it has to offer. Spectacular sunsets are on the cards most evenings, and I know Mykonos is famed for its rocky landscape too. Here’s hoping I can take a trip to this pretty place at some point during 2018, if work allows me too of course!

 

Lisbon, Portugal

 

 

The Portugese capital of Lisbon is somewhere I was supposed to visit a couple of years ago, but sadly I never got round to booking my flights and it just didn’t happen. My parents actually met on holiday in Portugal over 25 years ago, when they were both young and carefree and enjoyed a real life holiday romance (it lead to marriage and three kids, so it does happen guys!) so I think I’ve wanted to visit Portugal for a long time. Lisbon looks super cool, unusual, vibrant and I’m sure there’s plenty of history to uncover too. I’ve also heard it’s got a brilliant foodie scene and I think it’d be a great place to go for an autumnal city break later on in the year. Although I don’t have any firm plans to visit Lisbon yet this year, I always see cheap flights on Skyscanner and I’m sure I can squeeze in a cheeky weekend away before the year is out!

 

As you can see, I’m quite ambitious with this year’s bucket list and I’m only 70% sure that I’m going to get to visit some of these places. I certainly won’t be able to do them all, but what can I say? I like to aim high! My firm travel plans include my European inter-railing adventure in April, my long weekend exploring the Netherlands in May and my Mediterranean Cruise in August, but after that who knows?! I’m hoping to try and squeeze in a couple of short UK mini breaks this year too as I still haven’t been to Dublin and Edinburgh yet (bad Brit, I know) and I love to make the most of my weekends whilst I’m working full time. Where are you hoping to head to this year? Let me know as I want to hear all your plans! Don’t forget to check out the wonderful Destinations2 website and blog for plenty of travel inspo over the next 12 months…

Love Jess x

NB. This post was brought to you in collaboration with Destinations2, but as always all thoughts are of course my own.

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Why I’m nervous about turning 25…

 

Happy Blue Monday everyone… Today is officially the most depressing day of the year! The weathers miserable outside, we’re all skint after Christmas and pay day feels like FOREVER AWAY. January is notoriously difficult for lots of people for lots of reasons, but I’ve always been a fan of Jan as its my birth month and I get so excited to have something to look forward to after Christmas! This year though, I feel completely different, and here’s a few reasons why…

So tomorrow is my 25th birthday. The big 2-5. Halfway to 50. Officially in the mid 20s. When the hell did THAT happen?! It only seems like yesterday I was running around in nappies, or running to get the school bus cos I was late, or running out of a club at the end of a night out as celebrated numerous birthdays past the age of 18. It’s true what they say, time goes by so fast, and I notice it more with each year that passes.

 

Why can’t I be this small and sparkly again 😭

 

Im usually excited about my birthday, I am excited about tomorrow as I’ve got an amazing day planned with my friends and family, but the age thing is really getting to me this time round. Last night I had a bit of a rant on Twitter – I was actually crying as I posted the thread – and I got a few things out my system.

 

Head to my Twitter @jessica16_x to see my little rant

 

By the age of 25, I always thought I’d have my life figured out. I thought I’d be married, or at least engaged, and I thought I’d have had my first baby by now. I thought I’d have bought a house, got on the property ladder, put down some roots. I thought all of these things because that’s what my mum did, and my two nans, and my aunties. By the age of 25 they’d all got married and had two kids. They’d bought a house, they had a family, and they were happy. I look at what my mum had and compare it to what I’ve got now and I just feel so incomplete. I don’t fit in to what she did, in fact I’ve never felt further away from it in my life. I’ve not met anyone I want to committ to, I’m nowhere near ready to buy a house and I’m definitely not close to having kids and that’s something that upsets me the most. Anyone that knows me will know that all I’ve ever really wanted to do in life is be a mum, and being so far away from that life at the moment is something that plays on my mind daily.

 

Love you mum – I hope I make you proud 💖

 

All my friends are either married/engaged/in long term relationships. Most of them have bought houses or are renting together and are either expecting children or are parents already. I’m so so different to them and it scares me. Yes I love my little life and travelling has and always will be my passion, and I’m so happy I can just hop on a plane without having to take a buggy or a changing kit with me, but deep down I know all I want is to have the family life my mum had and still has.

 

A lot has changed for us girls in the past 25 years. We have more opportunities now, we work more, we travel more and we see more of the world. I love that, and I’m proud to be born into an era where those things are normal. Looking at what I have achieved in my short 24 years on this planet does make me proud – I’ve ticked so many incredible things off my bucket list, bought 2 cars, built a career for myself and my blog and become a charity ambassador too. I’ve travelled by myself, made friends with strangers, faced my fears and pushed myself to the limit and I’ve done all those things with enormous pride and happiness, but I still feel apprehensive about turning 25 tomorrow for all the reasons I’ve mentioned above.

 

Looking at what I have done, not what I haven’t done, gives me my greatest sense of achievement

 

I think as we near 30 we worry that we haven’t got out life figured out yet – I know I certainly haven’t! I always thought I’d find someone straight away and that I’d live happily ever after, but I guess my fairytale just hasn’t happened yet…

 

So all in all I am looking forward to having a nice day with my nearest and dearest tomorrow, but I’m scared because I just don’t want to be another year older, and another year further from all the things I thought I’d have by now. Does anyone else get the quarter life crisis/ mid 20s anxiety? Quite a lot of you tweeted me yesterday after I had my little Twitter rant and your comments meant so much to me. Let me know if you’re feeling the way I’m feeling right now – it would be nice to know I’m not alone!

 

Love Jess X

 

I don’t know what’s next for me as I enter my 25th year, but here’s to making it an amazing 2018 🌟

 

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