Hello there! If you’re reading this, thanks. I’m not sure how you came across it given all the fake news, Instagrams, Snapchats, and Pinterest boards beckoning you, but regardless, thanks. This is actually my first blog post, so hopefully you have relatively low expectations. Alright, here we go.

I started this blog because I’ve started traveling more. I’ve also taken up some new activities, and have generally just been leaving the house more and more these days.

But I’m not here to humblebrag about the latest peak I’ve bagged, post pictures of my meal, or tell you about some perfect weekend getaway I just had with my boyfriend. The internet is full of those things, and that’s fine. I’m not trying to shit on blogs that post that kind of content, a lot of them offer up really helpful and inspiring stuff. What I am trying to do though is laugh at myself a little more, and write about the not so glamorous moments that happen when you travel to a new place or try something new. Things you may not see when you’re scrolling through Facebook.

And why am I doing this? Well, I’m an introvert, and if it were up to me, I might never leave my house (which is in the actual woods). Can you blame me?? The world is a little crazy these days and my Netflix list continues to grow. However, I know deep down that I want to experience a little more out of life and have more to share than a detailed critique of the newest season of Orange is the New Black.

That thought came over me not too long ago, when my grandma said to me while looking at some pictures, “I wish I could have seen more places in person instead of just inside books.” Ouch, that one hit a nerve for me. I realized a few things in that moment, 1. I don’t want to have those same regrets and 2. my grandma and parents worked really hard so that the world could be more accessible for me, so by not taking advantage of that I’m really doing them a disservice.

Now that doesn’t mean you’ll see me quit my job anytime soon, travel the world, and get thousands of Instagram followers. I’m easily overwhelmed and overstimulated, a little negative (or as we like to say in the pessimist community, unreasonably realistic) and I have a terrible sense of direction, so if I’m being honest, travel kind of stresses me out. Luckily I have some pretty cool people in my life who push me to get out more, and move past a lot of my self limiting behaviors. But that doesn’t mean every moment of every trip is like a passage out of Eat, Pray, Love. Getting outside of your comfort zone can bring up a lot. It can leave you feeling vulnerable, make you question things you hadn’t considered, surface some ugly behaviors, and cause friction with people you care about. Yet, we usually don’t share these moments, especially on social media, and because we aren’t exposed to it, it’s easy to get down and sad, and think you’re doing something wrong while everyone else is living some blissful existence.

My goal is to humanize these moments a little more, laugh at them, and maybe even learn something in the process. I promise to keep it real, and limit the number of Brene Brown quotes.

Yours truly,

Bricelyn Jones