MY YEAR IN REVIEW 2019 AND UPDATE FOR 2020
I've been putting off on publishing my year in review for some time. I love reading recaps on other people's blogs as they summarise the highs and lows. But a large part of me compared my 2019 to my 2018 and was conveniently going to let things slide.
For me, 2019 involved a lot of transition. If you've read my 2018 year in review, you'll be aware that for 2019 a career move was on the cards. Having been unhappy for most of my 20s in my 9-5, it was time to take the plunge and go for it. A large part of 2019 involved sitting my butt firmly on a chair in front of my laptop.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
― Lao Tzu
The year was marked by a lot of change and shifts in relationships. Coming back from my year of travelling, I felt more aligned and seeing my life moving forward in a positive direction.
There was, of course, some travel. But once I return home to London, my heart really wanted to move forwards with a business. I momentarily pondered on finding another 9-5 and even sent a few job applications. But no matter where I looked, I felt like I was twisting myself into another shape trying to impress by being someone I'm not.
Instead, I focused on designing a life I love and creating a business to help me support it.
Whilst this year in review is a tad late. Oops... 🤷🏽♀️Below I'm breaking everything down from the highs and lows, goals achieved and plans for the rest of the year. Stay tuned until the end!
Going bananas in Minca
Argentina
It's no secret that Argentina exudes an eclectic and seductive cultural mix. My brief love affair with Buenos Aires in 2018 was extended in 2019 as I spent new years in the capital's energetic and lively barrios.
After having spent two and a half months hiking non-stop throughout Peru and Patagonia, it was time to put my feet up for a while and reacquaint myself with city life. In the Paris of South America, that meant hitting up rooftop bars, indulging in tango lessons and meeting up with some friends I had made in Patagonia.
Mingling with Porteños chilling out after work, Buenos Aires felt like the kind of city I could picture myself staying in for a couple of years.
I've never been much of a dancer, having inherited two left feet (or maybe right 🤷🏽♀️). But with easy access to all the tango clubs (packed out even on a Sunday night!), my lessons at DNI tango very often continued onto a milonga at La Catedral.
Oh and if I wasn't occupied enough, San Telmo, the oldest barrio of Buenos Aires kept me endlessly busy with mouth-watering restaurants and cool cafes.
The highlight for me was definitely saying cheers to a wonderful new year with my Canadian hiking buddy and watching some beautiful sunsets from my rooftop terrace.
More on the blog:
Planning a trip to Argentina: Travel tips + expenses
Street art in Palermo, Buenos Aires
El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires
Sunsets in Buenos Aires
Uruguay
My trip to Uruguay was short and sweet starting with Colonia del Sacramento. A cosy little colonial town, charming and picturesque. I spent the day wandering around on a golf buggy snapping away with my camera.
From Colonia del Sacramento I headed up to Montevideo spending a couple of blissful days hanging out on the beach. I spent some time cycling around the coast and it felt really great to be by the sea.
If you're ever in town, Uruguay is famous for a delicious grilled asado! Head over to Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo for a meaty feast.
More on the blog:
Beaches in Montevideo
Colonia del Sacramento
Colombia
If my life were a motion picture, I'd forever be roaming mountains and beaches that grace a thousand postcards around the world.
From crescent-shaped shorelines, luscious green mountains to vibrant cities, Colombia had it all and I honestly didn't want to leave.
My final stop before heading back home, the two months were filled with neighbourhood hopping around Bogota, attempting to salsa dance in Medellin, hiking through Minca and spending a week roaming my favourite island paradise, Providencia.
All epic adventures must come to an end and by this point if there's one thing I had learnt, it's that sometimes no plan is the best plan.
I had always been someone to plan out every step and every move. Letting go was the best thing I could have done.
Saying that, in travel, as in life, there's always the one that got away. Perhaps one day I'll be back en route to Antarctica. I couldn't fit it into my travel plans this time and to be honest the price tag scared me off a little.
More on the blog:
Where to stay in Bogota: The best neighbourhoods
Tayrona National Park: A sunrise to remember
La Candalaria neighbourhood in Bogota
Graffiti art in Medellin
Hanging out in San Andres
Panoramic views, Providencia
The rest of 2019
As I returned home to the crisp fresh air of London (there's something I thought I'd never say) I surprised my mum and dad who had no idea I was coming back.
The first month was spent catching up with friends and family, whilst chilling out in my favourite spots in London.
The next month I began planning. I've been wanting to launch an online business for a while. I had experimented with Wordpress website design and travel blogging but neither of them felt like the right kind of business idea for me.
I love my humble little blog, but going down some kind of influencer route just doesn't seem appealing. For a while, I did content writing for another travel blogger but it didn't feel sustainable in the long run.
After taking some online courses, I fell in love with Squarespace website design and it's what I'm focused on now.
Starting an online business had a lot of highs and lows, not to mention many failures along the way. You can come up against a lot of rejection which can be hard. It challenged my mindset, as I'm more often than not forced to do the difficult things, that I realllly don't want to do.
A few of the courses that helped me along the way:
Copywriting for Creatives by Ashlyn Carter
Square Secrets + Square Secrets Business by Paige Brunton
The Bucketlist Bombshells Courses
Skillshare: The tutorial from MOZ on SEO is fantastic.
London
Back in my home town
Key takeaways from 2019
As much as I love to travel, part of me is unsure if I would love it as much if it were my job. Shiny ball syndrome is a thing and coming back to London definitely helped me ground myself and focus on other projects.
I've been listening to a lot of Marie Forleo, and I love how she explains her process in decision making in asking yourself whether the decision expands you or contracts you.
For much of my 20s, I felt like the choices I had made contracted me. Sometimes it would be the fear of judgement. Or the fear of failure. And the question I've been asking myself more and more is "what would I do even if I knew I would fail"? In other words, what am I prepared work for, regardless of the outcome?
If there's one lesson I took away from my travels, it's that I really don't need to have it all figured out. In fact, the best moments are the unexpected, when I've been open to the infinite possibilities out there and the opportunities that come knocking on my door.
Saying that by the end of 2019, ADD (Adventure deficit disorder) started kicking in again. Anyone else relate?
A start to 2020
My plan was to take my laptop on the road in 2020 to more wifi friendly locations. But we'll get to that in a bit.
Continuing with education, earlier this year, National Geographic held a travel writing masterclass with some of the leading industry professionals. Now I can safely say, I was most likely the only travel blogger in the room😅. Cindy sitting next to me had been writing for National Geographic US for years. Safe to say I was in really good company!
As a travel blogger, I've mostly written destination guides up until today. But this masterclass encouraged me to look at things from more of a journalistic perspective. It'll be fun to see how my writing can evolve and grow after this class. I have so many ideas that I want to implement and I'll be sure to keep them in mind during my next travels.
Business-wise I've had some fun projects to work on. Here's a sneaky peek at a few of my mockups. You can have a wander through my design studio over at Creations by Faria.
Squarespace visual artist
Visual artist website design
Branding and color palette
Branding and color palette
Searching through NomadList, I had originally hoped to spend spring/summer in Eastern Europe and head over to Asia in winter. Things didn't quite go to plan with COVID-19. And my plans came to a halt.
It's definitely a season that I don't think anyone had planned for. Thankfully I have a home and a garden to isolate myself. It's times like these where it feels more important to be connected with one another.
Whilst I am isolating, it's given me the discipline and motivation to work on my business, which has meant perching my travel blog on the back burner for a couple of months. 😬
I'll be honest, with the highs and lows, I'm really enjoying running my Squarespace website design studio. It's the perfect time to be online right now and I feel strangely calm. Perhaps it's the introvert in me.
I still have a backlog of posts to write for this blog. Going back, I don't have a single blog post on Paris, even though I lived there for 5 years. I've been feeling nostalgic about my former french life recently. They say that everywhere you go becomes a part of you. And that's how I feel about Paris.
This past season of life has been isolating in ways and sometimes it's necessary to prioritise your goals and follow your dreams whilst carving out your own path in life. What I know is that, if I don't give it a shot now, I'll come to regret it in the coming years.
Plans for the year ahead
My focus is going to be on creating and designing a life I love and building a successful business to help me support it.
Build relationships with more amazing women with online businesses. I'm thankful to have a mini mastermind group where I get together and strategise each week with some fabulous women. I definitely want to build more of these relationships!
I won't be travelling anywhere anytime soon. But I still dream of hitting the open road and planning where I'll go next. The first destinations I'm thinking about heading to are Thailand, Vietnam, Hungary, Italy and Taiwan.
If I have time, with all the new skills I've learnt as a website designer, I'll be plotting a makeover for Oops I Booked Again. Looking back at 2017 where I really had no idea what I was doing to getting my website hacked last year I have a lot of ideas.
***
Well, that's all for now. This post is definitely long overdue. I'll try to be better with that in the future.
Life is a roller coaster, chaotic and magical. The ups and downs make it one heck of a ride and I'm not sure if I'd have it any other way.
I hope this post inspires you to go and chase your dreams.
Ciao for now🥂
Faria xxx