Meet Samantha
Hey it’s Sam! Join me as I navigate the chaos of travel, life, being in your twenties, and everything in between. If you’re anything like me, then you’ve always had the desire to explore and experience all that life has to offer. I have always felt like there’s endless places to see, people to meet, things to learn, memories to create…the list goes on and on. It’s overwhelming for sure. I’m using this blog to share everything about my travel experiences, and navigating life in your 20’s. Without further ado, here’s my story…
The First Adventure
By the end of my senior year of high school, I was beyond ready for the freedom to begin traveling the country and the world. I couldn’t wait to change my life and see what was out there. I took the first step by moving away from my tiny hometown in Pennsylvania to attend college in a city. I spent the entire spring semester of my freshman year planning my first real adventure with my best friend. Between classes, part time jobs, and various side hustles, we managed to plan and budget for an epic cross country road trip around the entire United States.
The Big Road Trip
Over the course of a month (July 2019), we spent time living out of a tiny Chevy Cruz and exploring the USA from east coast to west coast. We managed to drive 10,000 miles through 20 states, hike in 13 national parks, explore 6 major cities, and see countless famous USA landmarks. There were some bumps along the way as with any travel experience, but we had managed to see more in one month than either of us had seen in our entire lives. We also managed to stay in our broke, part time job, college budgets, which felt like a major accomplishment considering I had grown up thinking that travel was only possible if you have a lot of money. After this trip, I was hooked.
The Semester Spent at Sea
During the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I found out about a study abroad program called Semester at Sea. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a multi-country study abroad program conducted on a cruise ship. Sounds insane, I know, but from the moment I discovered its existence I knew I was going to find a way to go. So I did, and I got myself on that boat the very next semester actually (spring 2020).
I can’t even explain the excitement and nervousness I felt leading up to the day I embarked. I mean it was a cruise ship that was going to be sailing around the world for months, filled with college students, and I didn’t know a single person. Not to mention, I had never even been out of the country before. Now, we all know what happened in the spring of 2020, so long story short, our voyage was cut short by an entire month. We got the chance to explore Hawaii, Japan, Vietnam, Mauritius, and finally left to find our way home from South Africa in the midst of a global pandemic.
Though the circumstances were extremely unfortunate, this experience had once again shown and taught me more than anything else ever had in my life. I came with a completely new outlook of the world, and honestly just life in general. As cliche as it sounds, those few months had changed my life, and I wasn’t about to stop there.
The Semester in Spain
Just when I thought the pandemic was going to ruin any other chances of travel during the rest of my time in college, I found out about an opportunity that was just too good to pass up. I majored in elementary education, and my university was offering an opportunity to complete my student teaching in Spain during my final semester. Once again, I knew I had to go, and I was able to spend three months living in Madrid, Spain as a teacher’s assistant at an international school. Naturally, if you’re flying anywhere in Europe from the United States, you can’t just visit one country. Before I had started my placement, I visited France and Italy for the first time. Then I went on to explore many parts of Spain and Portugal during my time abroad.
The Summer Backpacking Europe Solo
After graduation, I just wasn’t ready to get a “real job.” I wanted to keep traveling and exploring while I pretty much owned nothing, had no bills or payments, and absolutely nothing tying me down anywhere. I spent over a month backpacking in Europe during the summer of 2022. I visited Ireland, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.
The Months Teaching in Costa Rica & Peru
In the fall of 2022, I found a program called Costa Rica TEFL, which is a school in the small beach town of Samara, Costa Rica. I spent a month there earning my certificate in teaching English as a second language, and then a second month there teaching English online and exploring more of the country. From Costa Rica I decided to book a month long stay in Cusco, Peru. I explored Lima, attended a Spanish school in Cusco, taught English online, explored and hiked the Andes Mountains, and of course completed the five day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu.
The Move to Florida & More Adventures
In 2023 I moved home, worked constantly, and saved as much money as I could. In May, I decided to pack up my car and move to Florida. I didn’t know a single person, found one of the last affordable studio apartments on Facebook Marketplace, got a job teaching third grade at an elementary school. During school breaks I was still able to make time to visit London, Belgium, Amsterdam, and spend a solid 10 days exploring Guatemala (one of my favorite countries to date).
The Now.
Currently I’m still teaching and trying to balance a full-time job along with traveling, pursing other career options and maintaining somewhat of a decent social life. When you move from a small town to start over in a new city, there’s a lot to figure out. Your world completely opens up, and you find out about new opportunities you never knew existed.
So, if you’re in your twenties and not sure what you want to do with your life, and you want to travel and see the world, pursue a new career, start that business, move to a new place, and try that thing you’ve always wanted to– then this blog is for you.
Here’s to making the most out of our twenties.
– Sam
