Author’s note: I typed out and posted this several times, to no avail, so slightly tardy but still valid, here we go! 

When my family first got our computer in the early 2000s, I chose for my email address, and later AIM screenname, to be “adventuregirl.” At the time, my adventures consisted of going to the mall without parents, school band trips, and class presentations, but the moniker ended up being somewhat prophetic for my teen and twenty-something self.
As I write this, I’m in Banff National Park, Alberta, a place I’ve desperately wanted to visit ever since I saw a picture of Moraine Lake online. For the most part, I have the means to make a lot of my travel dreams happen, and I try my best not to take that for granted.
I’ve reached (okay, technically passed) the 30-day mark for the month-long challenge I made for myself to have an adventure every day. Here are some of my takeaways:

– It’s more difficult than I expected to have a daily adventure and write about it, in addition to everyday time constraints (working, commuting, sleeping, running errands, etc.). Kudos to those who blog more regularly and with more content than I have!

– Each of us should be able to define “adventure” for ourselves. For some people, and at times in my life, going into a crowd of people outside your front door seemed more terrifying than bungee jumping; other times in my life, I have actually done things like bungee jumping. To each person and different aspects of our own person, what’s challenging and exciting can be completely subjective; don’t let anyone else define it for you or minimize your accomplishments.

– I really like cooking. I think it may become a new source of self-care for me because I have control over how healthily I eat, I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment, and I’m learning something new every time.

– Be gentle with yourself! Trust me, I have anxiety about every day I missed a post or was late or (seemingly half-assedly) combined multiple days into one, but I’ve tried to forgive myself rather than get anxious and self-deprecating to the point of wanting to quit.

– Travel can be so stressful. Even if I have the financial means, time, and desire to travel far and wide, sometimes I just need to decompress and find adventure in the smallest things. This may not be the case for everyone, but I’ve learned enough about myself to know that I need that and that it’s okay; there’s nothing wrong with me for needing time and space to take care of myself!

– That being said, the weekends or days I’ve pushed myself to do something when I didn’t really feel like it are almost always worth it. My doctor actually told me to remove the option of saying “no” to social invitations in order to force myself out of the house; after months of being a recluse, that’s valid, but I try to find the balance between that and spreading myself too thin.

– I have no self-discipline when it comes to exercise. Even though I stuck to my daily adventures, I didn’t stick to exercising 4 times a week. In fact, I put my gym membership on hold this month…this is something where I obviously need structure and someone to motivate me so I’ll work on that for next month (especially “conditioning” myself for Thailand!)

I plan to continue writing about adventures of all kinds, but like I said in my last post, I’m goi g to adjust the focus of this a little bit to be more travel-related. I want to keep the momentum going and have little adventures each day, even without all of you to hold me accountable 😉 thanks for sticking with and supporting me!

I’d love to hear what you learned through all of your “adventures,” big and small! Much love ❤