4 Reasons Why I Started My Blog
September 2024 - Photographed by Leah J. Photography.
Travel is joie de vivre.
One of my purposes in life is to help young Americans get out of their travel comfort zones. Material items and numbers in your bank account come and go. But no one can take away your education or your travels. Travel is one of the most concrete tools we have to live life to the fullest. It gives us moments and memories we can always return to. Whether it’s having a picnic in a field in Spain, running after a bus in New Jersey, or jumping off a dock in Guatemala, to travel is to love life.
From my experiences abroad, I have realised there are a lot of negative stereotypes out there about Americans. Americans don’t travel. Americans don’t know geography. Americans are stupid. I’m on a mission to kindly change some minds (and hopefully not embarrass myself, or my country, in the process). By having an open mind, listening to one another, and enjoying each others’ cultures, we can all play an active role in increasing international cooperation and mitigating conflict. For me, this mission is two-fold: I hope to both represent the U.S. abroad in a more cosmopolitan light, and to spark curiosity at home by sharing positive representations of other cultures.
We are living in a very interesting time. With the rise of the gig economy, remote work, and contract work, we can pick up and go to work anywhere in the world with our laptops. Generation Z will be the leaders of this workplace revolution. I want to help young Americans make the most of this moment in history.
Girl Gone Durham will be advantageous for my career. At Durham University, I’ll be getting my Master’s (MSc) in Marketing. After I graduate in September of 2025, I plan to look for a position at a destination marketing organisation (or DMO; for example: Visit Britain). Posting one blog post per week, for 52 weeks, will help me both to practice using my “textbook” travel knowledge, and to build a solid portfolio.
Bonus: It’s fun! Whenever I write, I like to imagine I’m talking to my best friend over a voluptuous glass of Cab. That’s how I want my writing and my brand to feel: genuine, fun and energetic. Besides, who wants to read academic writing in their free time?
