When my son was in his junior year of high school, I had an epiphany. He was about to be the last of my birds to leave the nest. I was single AF and entering the “exit strategy” phase of my 20+ years of successful entrepreneurship. “What in the world am I going to do when my son leaves for college?” I thought to myself.
My son was about 16 or 17 and he truly was my bestie, my partner in crime—and I was his “bruh.” We did everything together. He was my youngest of two, six years younger than his older sister, and pretty much the one who filled the voids in my life. Until I realized the void of his “growing up” and flying the nest was about to leave me with one of my own in just a little over a year.
I thought about this quite often in the days to come until I landed on what I felt would be a good way to fill the impending void. “I’ll travel!” I excitedly concluded.
It was actually in my very own junior year of high school that I’d had the desire to become a flight attendant. My high school boyfriend’s mother was a flight attendant, and I’d thought it was the coolest thing that she could fly and see the world—and honestly, even cooler that he was often home alone while she traveled and their apartment was his apartment when she did.
“I’m going to apply to become a flight attendant once you go to college!” I told my son. As a matter of fact, the thought made so much sense to me that I realized I didn’t even have to wait for him to finish high school to begin traveling. He was old enough, mature enough, and independent enough to care for himself if I was away. He had his own car, didn’t need me to wake him or tell him to get ready for school. Heck, he had a part-time, after-school position in retail management at just 17 and even made his own money.
The kid didn’t need me there, so I excitedly began to look into travel to ideal destinations and began applying to fly the open skies.
Well, I never did get hired as a flight attendant. I applied. I was interviewed. I was even scheduled for next-round and second- and third-phase interviews. I could have easily gotten the job. I’m a people-person, I excel at customer service and guest relations, I clean up really nicely and pull off “pretty” well, and with my 25+ years of entrepreneurial and management experience, I was a shoo-in and favored by a couple of the airlines I applied for…
But something about being a flight attendant just shifted along the way. It wasn’t negative, nor was it overly positive. I just decided that making my own travel schedule and spending my own time traveling or on a trip felt best.
I started thinking of even bigger possibilities—of moving out of the U.S., where I currently resided. I loved the Caribbean. The crystal-clear water, the always warm sun on my skin, and the soft sand sifting through my toes. I’d gone to the Bahamas several times in the past on girls’ trips, with my children on a family trip, and had even taken all my employees on an annual vacation trip. It just always felt so good to be there.
I started looking into more islands in the Caribbean and mapped out a plan to begin traveling to them all so that I could spend time, explore the culture, meet the people, and research real estate.
I decided on a destination and, in July 2018, I made my first step in this travel journey to the Dominican Republic. I loved it even more than the Bahamas. Then there was St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico… my travel list grew and grew. My sharing of pics and posts caught eyes, attention, and interest. Traveling solo seemed to be a superpower—and women loved it. It was empowering, inspiring, and encouraging.
So, some of those women began traveling with me. Travel also became therapy. It helped. It healed. It filled. It spoke to me. It listened to me. It. Simply. Was. Beautiful.
Now, here we are, 7 years later. Many sky miles later, lots of steps in the sand, and some amazing memories made. I’m still traveling—and really just getting started, to be honest. There is still so very much more of the world to see.
Out of travel, I launched healing retreats for women via my nonprofit, heal(H)er, Inc. I created a travel and event planning firm which also offers luxury concierge services. I’m helping other women face their fears and find their passion through my transformational coaching and lifestyle mentoring. And—as you’re reading—I’ve taken the step to become a paid travel blogger and write to share my experiences and connections with the amazing journey I’ve had and that is still unfolding.
One epiphany has turned into a life that I now #LiveLoveLaughAndTravel.
