Be Brave Traveler

What is something you want to achieve this year?

Bloganuary Day 1

I’m excited to build on what I’ve been working on over the past few years. I want to do more:

• Traveling
• Reading
• Creating
• Living

Traveling

Last year I had some pretty epic trips, including a month in Louisiana, driving in a different country (Canada), two weeks in Tennessee, and my first cross-country Amtrak ride from West Virginia to Colorado. Closer to home, I hiked some beautiful trails in West Virginia and earned my Waterfall Wanderer sticker. I’m not sure where I’ll be going this year, but I’m sure it will be just as adventurous.

Reading

I set out to read 12 books last year. I read seven. Maybe this year I could read eight? I started reading Mutinous Women: How French Convicts Became Founding Mothers of the Gulf Coast while in New Orleans. Next, I read The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II before visiting the actual Atomic City in Tennessee. I’ve picked a few books off my shelf to start with. Books I bought during my adventures but didn’t open. First up is The Great Affair by Harriet Z. Levy. A “love letter dedicated to the author’s travel in a recreational vehicle.”

Creating

When it comes to creating, I want to spend more time living artfully. More blog posts, more photos, more videos, more art. Like, getting to day 21 of Bloguary. Maybe even blogging without a prompt.

For example, I have this whole idea of a series of photos that combines my recently repaired dollhouse with the collection of Marvel tchotchkes I have. Like, Jessica Jones helping with the dollhouse repairs…

Living

Living is going to be a challenge. I’ve been allowed to get away with hiding from life thanks to the pandemic. Even with my adventures, I’ve shied away from connections and events outside my comfort zone. I think I’d like to try to change that a little bit. If it weren’t for an unexpected personal tragedy, I might have joined a “first-day” hike (as in the first day of the new year) with other people, strangers at that, in a nearby state park. I’ve even signed up for a few Meetup groups.