What our life was supposed to look like
and a little change around here
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* A change, free subscribers will receive an email twice a month. Paid subscribers will receive an email every week on Mondays. I have provided an explanation for the change at the bottom of the newsletter.
Largo, Samuel, Gram, Freya, Jess and Will on the Panama Canal.
This WorldTowning thing was never part of the life plan. Not even close.
I was 19 and living in London on a four-month study abroad program through Syracuse University, my alma mater. On any given day you could find me walking the streets and parks (rain or shine) with camera in hand, 3-inch wooden clogs on my feet, my leather jacket to keep me warm and Levi’s hanging off my hips. Oh and a Coke and a package of HobNobs in my backpack. To say my mind was blown and my world expanded over those four months was an understatement. My classes at university consisted of the study of theatre, the study of music, travel photography, and a couple of others I now forget. Every Tuesday our group would attend a music event and every Wednesday we would go to the theatre mostly in London, but sometimes we ventured to obscure venues outside the city. On the weekends we would have travel photography trips all over England. Life was so good. I cried when I had to return to university, felt a bit depressed and almost quit. My roommates in London, who were an eclectic bunch of travelers 10+ years my senior were all convinced I would finish college and then take off for foreign lands with my backpack and clogs in tow. I did not. Instead, I got a job, bought a car, and saved for retirement, you know how this story goes. The travel bug was put to bed for two decades.
In 2003 I was 3 months pregnant and I already had Avalon on the preschool list for the Montessori school at the end of the block in our hip Los Angeles neighborhood. We had bought our first house together and were on the cusp of purchasing our first investment property which would be part of a growing portfolio of passive income. Will was a Manager at PWC on the partner track. My Graphic Design business was thriving and we were considering office space and an expansion. Most of our dinner conversations revolved around the buy-in to the partnership, where our dream home would be and how much private school in Los Angeles would cost for Avalon and another baby if we did not find a good public system. This was the plan. Upgrading and bigger, bigger, bigger in all aspects of our life.
Manhattan beach was the dreamland with amazing public schools, right on the beach, close to the airport. We could live there. We would have had fancy vacations to exotic lands and maybe even date weekends that whisked us away for 2-3 days of couple time. There would have been take-out sushi on exhausted Friday nights without a considering for price. Probably a cleaning lady and weekly massages. I would guess a nanny or maybe even two depending on how much Will was traveling for work or how busy our real estate portfolio kept me. I am sure our lives would have been filled with intense stress and responsibility in our careers that might have had us blowing off steam in less than-healthy ways. Maybe I would have never quit smoking, maybe one of us would have found comfort in someone else, or maybe our kids would have found a family community online rather than with the four of us. Lots of maybes, or maybe it would have all worked out. I can’t imagine that we would have had all we have today because of our choice to full-time travel with the outline we had created. I just don’t see how it would have been possible. This was what our life was supposed to look like.
In those early days, we loved our life. I guess one could say we really did not know another life, but what we had we really enjoyed. Good friends, a good romantic relationship, a community that aligned with our inclusive and equitable life goals, and good food. You must have good food. We were never a family who left the US because we disliked our life. However, we did have a path we were on and a 20-30-40-year plan. I think that is why I am still amazed at our life today. I always had a wild imagination, but from where I sit right now even my wild mind could not have cooked this up.
I can see the Panama Canal if I look over my shoulder. Pinch me.
We crossed through the Canal on a boat we own that we had no idea how to sail just a little over 2 years ago. A far cry from the “the plan” established some 20 years ago over margaritas, tacos, and late nights of me puffing away on a Marlboro Light on our moonlit patio in West Hollywood. In less than 12 hours we will enter what is considered the most dangerous sailing zone on the pacific coastline of Panama with a goal of reaching Mexico by April 8th. We don’t live a safe life. It is hard. Often scary. Financially risky. And pretty much anything else you can think of that does not align with the 20-30-40 year plan I mentioned above.
How did we get here?
I can share all the logistics, ways you can learn from our mistakes, how hard we worked, and so forth, but the honest truth is we believed it was possible. Against all the odds, the naysayers, and the really tough days/weeks/years we never gave up hope that it was possible and that WE could do it. Will loves to say that if someone else can do it, then so can we. We believed in us making this happen. This is a hard life, no one else can do it for you, but if you believe you can do it…then you will.
And this is where I will leave you this week. Take time to ponder what you want in life. Do you believe it is possible? If not, what can you do to believe it is possible? Research? Talking to those who have gone before you? Identifying your skill set or previous accomplishments? Whatever you need to believe go out and seek it, not in a month or even tomorrow, but right now.
Just believe in you!
*OMG, we crossed the Panama Canal!!!!!
And with that I am off to help Will with engine repair and hopefully open registration for our Barcelona trip by tomorrow am. Thank you for joining us this week. Would love to hear your thoughts on believing in yourself in the comments.
xoxo,
Jessica
A change here on the newsletter
I have been writing and sharing our life for almost a decade now. I first started sharing on our blog Goodie Goodie Gumdrop during our preparation days for travel up until just a couple of years ago. Simultaneously we started a YouTube channel and then we added a newsletter through MailChimp, which I have since left behind. I recently started writing again through Substack as I missed the connection to the community through words and your comments. This newsletter is a bit different than previous writings. My focus now is to give a more intimate look into our lives and not “what we have done or best country for expats,” but more on what has changed within us, lessons learned, and the stories that accompany these milestones. All under the premise to help others go after those big dreams, travel or whatever else they desire.
Many of you have subscribed to the newsletter, thank you. And many of you have become paid subscribers, thank you. Currently I post weekly here. I always aim for Mondays, but depending on our sailing schedule it might be a little later in the week from time to time. This week is a perfect example of later in the week.
I will be making a change going forward. Free subscribers will receive an email twice a month. Paid subscribers will receive an email weekly (4-5x a month).
I really struggled with this decision and even have a pit in my stomach writing this, but then I realized people do pay for our coaching services, as patrons for YouTube, on our group trips, and more so why not include my writings as well. A paid subscription allows me time to dig deeper into my writing and time to pour my heart into it, as well as keep it ad and sponsor-free.
This feels very much like a circle back to the old days of blogging, but with a more intimate community which is where we are looking to go with all aspects of WorldTowning. I have so many big dreams for this space. I am happy to have you here with us whether you are a paid or free subscriber.
Where are we now?
In Costa Rica! Not a new country for us, but we have not been here for 7 years since we first started our WorldTowning lifestyle and lived here for 12 months. Right now we are sitting on the boat working and fixing an engine. I hope I have more to report on Instagram that involves us going to land, but you never know with this boat lifestyle. Oh and we caught several fish, finally.
For all the details on the group trip we will host in Costa Rica in 2024 click here.
To learn more about us, our mission, and our business you can visit us at WorldTowning. To view our most recent group trip offerings head on over to WorldTowningvoyages.com. If you are interested in booking a coaching session to realize your travel dream, schedule it here. If you want to follow the travels of our WorldTowning family, you can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
Done! I subscribed for the entire year! I’m glad you asked! Your newsletters are worth their weight in gold. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your heart with us. The energy is flowing.
Only 5 months until we depart.