Why I Travel
A Story of Magic and Transformation
An exploration of life, transformation, and fabulous fashion.
The idea for Live Well Be Fabulous started back in November 2012. I had no clue what I was doing or even where I needed to start. This unexpected streak of ambition came when life had taken a turn for the worse. My doctor told me that I would need surgery to correct a major fibroid issue, a female’s worst nightmare coming in close behind hearing the news that you’re suffering from uterine cancer. There’s nothing like a life-threatening issue to put things into perspective.
Fast forward to November of 2013 and several surgeries later, I find myself sitting at Ruby Tuesdays with a girlfriend. She explains how one of her friends was making good money by running a food blog. The idea intrigued me. Together, we put our heads together and came up with a plan to create something similar.
After brainstorming with colors ideas, names, and blog topics, we came up with the Fabulous Blog. Yeah, I know, the name lacks originality, but everyone has to start somewhere right? We were on a roll. Ideas flowed from our heads pretty easily. The initial colors scheme shaped up, a strange mixture of brown and green, and not in a good way either. We also decided that since we both have a love of the Mediterranean, we would somehow work that concept into the blog. The world looked pretty good. I bet you’re thinking we started publishing tons of engaging blog posts that brought in bucket loads of money, right?
No, not really. Back in that day, there weren’t very many good blogging classes around. Only a few bloggers offered detailed training about starting a blog. Both my friend and I had recently started new journeys in life; she had recently become an online instructor and I returned to the workforce after surgery. We wanted to write inspiring stories to help motivate others facing similar circumstances. Our intentions were good but the plan wasn’t really there.
Fast forward to January of 2014 and we’re rolling in the ideas, but still didn’t possess the skills needed for a professional appearance. Lots of trial and error took place at that time. We downloaded a free WordPress theme and threw up a few articles about fashion, southern cooking, a couple of fitness tidbits here and there, and short compilations of my weekend travels.
Back then small posts that contained a few sentences (I believe the correct word is an aside) were accepted in the blogging world, during the time before Google’s algorithm changes. The ideas kept coming. My friend crafted her recipe posts. Yet the blog stalled around that magical six-month time frame, the point where bloggers either keep grinding or give up when little to no money is coming in. I soon found myself trudging away on my own.
The idea for a travel series on Live Well Be Fabulous came to me one night when I was struggling with writing yet another article about my Polyvore collection. Does anyone even remember that app? Don’t worry. I try to forget that I obsessed over it every day too. The concept of virtual outfits didn’t last long. People want to see real outfits and photogenic adventures. I dived into turning LiWBF into a full-blown fashion blog with a dash of craft here and there. The star of the linky parties that I signed up for on a weekly basis was none other than your bloggerly host. While I enjoyed playing the role of a Christie doll for a short time the thrill soon wore off and I found myself reeling in free products and tons of clothes with little money to show for it.
Enter a movie called Under the Tuscan Sun, an autobiography of a San Francisco based literature professor, Frances Mayes portrayed by the delightful Diane Lane. Actually, I found this movie back in 2006. However, the message behind the story, to follow your heart and the dreams are sure to manifest, didn’t sink in until I’d published yet another #outfitoftheday post. In the movie, Frances who has just suffered a divorce decides to take a trip to Italy. She finds Bramasole, the rundown Italian villa that she identifies with at once because both she and the house need a fresh start.
Needless to say, I fell in love with both the message and the movie and an idea for a new series of travel posts came to life… the Mediterranean Muse. Guess what? LiWBF’s readers loved the series. I’d discovered that sweet spot of every successful blogger’s world, the combination of passion and purpose. Soon, more travel articles followed. While I don’t have a huge list of countries decorating my traveling scrapbook’s pages (not yet, anyway) I do have an extensive list of places I’ve visited and new journeys I plan to conquer. I’ve also been blessed to find so many talented writers around the world who work to bring you authentic experiences in both traditional and exotic locales around the globe.
Traveling ignites a part of my soul and inspires me to live the best life I can possibly design. That day I left the hospital back in February 2013, was the moment I knew I’d found a purpose in this life … to inspire others to be adventurous as I had done. To step out of the comfort zone and experience the magic of art and history and unique experiences around the world. To be an enigma and design that life you’ve dreamt of for the longest time.
Yeah, sure, it took some to get here. Based on the daily emails and DMs of gratitude and love we receive each day, it’s a good thing that I did.
That my friends is why I travel.
