Talking more about the challenge of work plus travel today and I wanted to share some thoughts on another way this combination is in my life. In my first post for this series, I wrote how my life is my work and travel is my work. Not complaining, just stating facts. In turn this opens up a Pandora's box in my head of a lot of questions regarding sharing my travels. Where I'm at, when I'm there, and what is going on. How much of a trip do I let the Internet be a part of?
This has become a difficult issue for me. And it's a very personal issue for me, some bloggers or travelers don't have the issue or take a lighter view on it. But being concious of how much I am sharing weighs heavily on me. My job revoloves around me sharing my life with you - through my scrapbooking, the blog, social media, etc. I am thankful (seriously thankful) that anyone is interested at all in what I'm doing or where I'm going.
I want to share it all. I want people to join me on whatever adventures I take. I want to share the best, the coolest, the most delicious things with you bcause I give you great experiences and enjoy these places/food/stores/cities that I enjoy. My readers, social media followers, and shop customers are very important to me and I want to always be giving you a truthful look at what my life is about. I eat donuts + burgers, and drink insane amounts of coffee, and wear clothes from Old Navy, and it pains me to buy an expensive bag. One of the many things I've learned from my friends Elise and Ali is that honesty + transparency are a wonderful thing when you're a blogger. They give you the real stuff and it's the best. I've also come to realize that it will minimize assumptions. Never a bad thing. And I always love reading about other people's travels. I share so many links to travel articles here and on Twitter because it's interesting + inspiring for me to read about other adventurers.
There is a flip side to that though. It is often a struggle for me to share. For example, when I was in Paris I thought I would be blogging every day. I pictured myself posting all the posts, telling you all about it, having you join me for the moments. And then I opened my computer and I didn't want to write. I wanted to keep the experience to myself. Pull it tight against my chest. It wasn't because I was having an awful experience. It was the opposite. I was having such an overwhelming wonderful experience and I felt like it belonged to me. It didn't feel right to share such a personal thing. Have you ever felt like that? I think social media has turned us into huge sharers, which is both a fantastic and not always positive thing in my mind.
So, I am at a point where I'm intentionally thinking more carefully about what I share and what I keep for myself. I hope you understand. I think I have struck a good balance. Instagram helps, being an outlet to share an experience without having to include thoughts or feelings at all. I most definitely will keep sharing lots of travel posts + topics with you, especially in a big project coming in the new year. We are still going to go on some awesome adventures together, friends.
