Excitement. Fear. Joy. Terror. Nausea. What could make me feel all those things simultaneously, you ask? Oh you know. Just my life choices.

I left Nashville to pursue my dream of being a writer.

Wait. WHAT?!?

Yes. And there are so many feelings. So many thoughts. Lots of reasons why. I don’t want to make light of the process that got me to this decision, but it was lengthy and multifaceted. Plus, I wouldn’t want to terrify you with the inner workings of my mind – it’s a little chaotic in there.

What I can give you are some of the thoughts and feelings that went into the decision.

The first feeling came about six months into living in Nashville. It sounds crazy but it started like a weird, nagging itch. To go, anywhere. The trip to LA fed the craving and then made me want more. About a month later I finally realized what was happening. The dream of moving to Nashville, working, living on my own and being near friends wasn’t enough.

Next came the failure. God, it was terrible. Nashville had been my dream and I finally made it happen, on my own, but suddenly that dream wasn’t cutting it. It had to be my fault, right? I had picked the wrong apartment, wasn’t going out enough, I must have been doing this whole thing wrong. That feeling of failure loomed over me for several months until finally something I’d heard came back to me. Dreams can end and change. Just because you held on to one dream for so long doesn’t mean you need to stick to it forever, after it no longer makes you happy. (Let’s be honest, Glennon Melton probably said that but I can’t find it anywhere). Once I’d heard that, the feeling of failure was gone.

My obvious next step was, ‘well, what now?’ I had no idea what I wanted to do other than travel. I read, started writing and began a months-long process of self-reflection until I was able to answer my question.

So here I am. Sitting in my bedroom in my parent’s house, typing this up. I’ve quit my job and responsibilities in Nashville to pursue travel writing. Sure, the first couple days felt like vacation, since I’m in sunny south Florida spending time with my family. Now the real work begins. More writing, more reading, more getting out there having experiences rather than wishing I could.

I realized my long-term goal is location independence. Yeah, I want to be one of those travelers galavanting across the globe relying on my laptop and WiFi for work. So for now, that means cutting as many costs as possible by living with my parents and starting freelance work in order to open my own online business.

Sounds simple enough, right? Not at all. But I wake up every morning now excited for each day’s challenges and can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Wish me luck!