Guess who’s back, Katy’s back, from my four month jaunt around South America. We had the BEST time on our trip exploring 6 diverse and interesting countries in just four months so no wonder coming back has taken a little time to adjust to. Returning home has been both amazing and difficult….. amifficult?
We came back to late Christmas presents, huge feasts with our families (Chocolate, pub grub and all day breakfasts I have missed you soooo much), my dad’s incredible birthday weekend in Belfast (post coming soon!), catching up with friends over mugs of tea and bottles of wine and the best bit: telling everyone what we’ve been up to and reliving it all with them, seeing their faces light up at our photos and stories.
I also came back fired up for my future and for this blog. Travel not only allows you to see the world and discover new cultures and languages but it also gives you the time to think about the life you lead. Where you want to go, what are you going to do with the rest of your short time on this amazing planet?
I still want to travel, my feet still itch to get out and about and my mind still wants to soak up everything there is to see and know. I want to write, I have now finished my first novel and have notebooks filled with scribblings for future books I NEED to write. I want to share my story and inspire others. I am leading a life I never thought possible when I was younger and I don’t want this freedom and fun to end, no matter what challenges may come my way.
I started this blog back after coming out of a very difficult and unsettling breakup. I felt lost. Everything I knew and thought I was working towards was suddenly snatched away. Yes I cried, yes I grieved, and yes I made some dubious decisions during this time but once I felt stronger I knew I deserved better. So I quit my job, left the life I knew behind and headed into the unknown alone … literally.
I never imagined that very scary decision would lead to this cautious quiet girl who preferred to blend in than stand out, who succumbed to comfort and the predictability of a routine, evolve and grow enough to say yes to so many amazing things. From scuba diving in Thailand, backpacking around India alone, hiking an active volcano in Chile, trekking the Himalayas, flying past Mount Everest, ticking off my 30th country before my 30th birthday, living and working in France almost never making a faux pas. I’ve slept in a Bolivian hotel made of salt, a Peruvian floating reed cabin, a Thailand jungle veranda, and a barely standing Indian beach hut. I’ve been so lucky to see sights I thought would only ever be a dream including the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and Christ the Redeemer. All of them giving me goosebumps. Phew.
Guys, this is not a humble brag but that if I can do all this then ANYONE can!
Fed up with how your life is going? You can change it.
I am no longer that little lost lady who started this blog and I want Notwedordead to grow with me. I want this to be a place full of wanderlusting, globetrotting, inspiration and encouraging you to live the life you want.
You may have noticed the shiny new look but it goes deeper than that (like most things). I have a notebook bursting with posts, ideas, pictures and motivating inspiring words for you to feast your pretty eyes on. So in a nutshell (Austin Powers style) I hope you will come on this new journey with me and together realise we can do anything. Can I get a hell yeah!!
