My New Year’s Realizations

We did it! We made it through another year full of uncertainty and un-safety. And now we have a chance to reflect, reassess, and resolve to make some new changes and take some new chances in the new year. I’m determined to make 2022 an even better, brighter, braver year. Who’s with me?

Let’s start 2022 on our own terms! Make big travel plans. Set some ambitious New Year’s Resolutions.

Or as I like to think of them, New Year’s Realizations.

I’ve realized a lot over the past year about myself, what matters most to me, and who I really want to be. Or rather, who I’ve always been that I’ve been ignoring or putting on the back burner for far too long. So I’m gonna use this opportunity to take back ownership of myself and my life, and set some ground rules for the year ahead.

Here are a few of my top New Year’s Realizations for 2022:

1. I love being a part of the IMPACT Bay Area Board! It’s become my biggest source of energy, fulfillment, and purpose. So that’s going to continue at full speed ahead!
2. I still believe in Tough Cookie, but I’ve gotten distracted by my big beefy online course (which I’m super proud of btw!) and forgotten the part I love most, which is writing. So you’ll be seeing more travel / self defense articles from me coming soon (after this one)!
3. In general, I need to work on setting boundaries in… well, my work. Oddly enough, I’m better at this in my relationships, but I still compromise myself too much in my career (both Tough Cookie & elsewhere). So this year, I’m gonna work on significantly improving that.
4. That also means doing something I’ve realized I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now – step back from social media. I may still post from time to time, but it’s gonna be really infrequent and only when it brings me joy. Which is rarely.
5. That may also mean stepping back from this email newsletter, but then again this type of writing does bring me more joy, so maybe not…
6. Above all, the greatest realization I’ve made is that I LOVE TO TRAVEL. And I’ve not had nearly enough of that this past year (or two). So this year I’m gonna resume my travels with a vengeance. Wild horses and coronaviruses couldn’t stop me.

This is Tough Cookie Travel, after all. So if my list didn’t include something about travel, there’d be something very very wrong.

So in honor of that, let’s expand on that last Realization a little bit further. I dunno about you, but I’ve already begun dreaming up plans for my ideal travel year ahead.

Here are the cliffs notes of my 2022 travel dreams:

• My top priority is to get to Florida by early Spring to visit a very dear friend I’m long overdue to visit… and while I’m there, finally see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando (I’m a huge HP nerd).
• Then I’d really love to make it to New Orleans this March 12-13 for Wanderfest, an amazing outdoor travel festival for women put on by the beautiful Wanderful community I’m a member of (and cannot recommend highly enough)!

• I’d also really love to see Alaska, one of the only US states left I haven’t been to, and ideally around August, though that may have to wait to another year given other travels and commitments at that time (like say, Burning Man).
• I’m desperate to get back to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio to once again ride the most epic rollercoasters in the country (and most of the world). I went for the first time on my massive 2019 US cross-country solo road trip and have been itching to get back ever since.

• Internationally, I wanna go to Lithuania to see an old NYC friend who moved back there in the pandemic. What better way to see a fascinating new country than with a local guide who’s also a good friend I haven’t seen in years? Win-win!
• I wanna get back to Berlin, one of my favorite cities in the world where I’ve been countless times, but haven’t been back since 2016. That’s way too long. I miss you, Berlin.
• I also wanna go back to Amsterdam to see other dear friends who feel like family (and their growing family), plus some newer friends making the move there now (can you tell I’m jealous?).

• I wanna get to Turkey before two other dear friends who live there (in Ankara) now have to make the move back.
• I’ve also been dying to do a slow meandering road trip through all of small town United Kingdom (I blame Bill Bryson for this dream) and ideally also Ireland… though that may have to happen over a few trips. Bit ambitious, innit?

I probably won’t manage to do all of these trips this year. But damnit, I’m gonna make as many of them happen as feasibly and financially possible.

This is the year, folks. The year I get back to the nomad lifestyle I love so much. The vajabond I am. My inner wandering warrior woman. This New Year, I’ve realized that’s who I truly am and need to let myself be.

So onward and upward, my fellow Cookies! Oh the places we’ll go!

Setting any travel goals for your New Year’s Realizations (or Resolutions)?

Then make sure you get my Travel Safety Mini Course and treat yourself to a little travel prep pampering before you go, to make sure all of your travels this year are the fullest, fiercest, and safest possible. You’ve got this. And I can help!