Top 12 Posts of 2020
Well, my friends, we’ve just about made it to the end of 2020. And with that in mind, I would like to share an unpopular opinion: 2020 didn’t all out suck. Now before you decide to @ me, let clarify that I’m not suggesting we pretend it hasn’t been hard and terrifying and exhausting because it has been for almost everyone (here’s looking at you, Jeff Bezos). But I am saying that it wasn’t all bad. Despite the difficulties, pain, and fear, there were moments of real beauty, joy, and growth.
This past weekend, as I read through the blog posts from this past year, I was encouraged to see the ways I have grown in 2020 and even to see the ways I was being prepared, a year ago, for all that was to come.
With that in mind, I would like to share with you my top 12 blog posts of 2020:
The Ocean Speaks To Me
“You don't need to figure it out. You are strong. You have been through so much. You have had your heart broken before. You have lost jobs. You have been beaten down. You have faced adversity and you have thrived. You're a big girl and you can handle all of it.
There's a great big ocean out there with so many unknowns but you don't need to know. You just need to take it in, a little at a time, let it embrace you in its beauty, ride the waves and let its sounds soothe your soul.”
My Favorite Things with Kelsey Stewart
My favorite piece of travel advice is to embrace the elements. I was in Ecuador at a hostel when I first thought of this - I was sweeping sand out of my room, and it was such a futile attempt. I realized, at the beach, expect sand. In the winter, expect cold. If you "embrace the elements," you spend less time worrying and more time enjoying your surroundings.
#PullUpForTravel with the Black Travel Alliance
I have always said that I don’t want Her Bags Were Packed to just be my stories. I actively pursue and invite “ordinary” women to share stories about their solo travel experiences because I want readers to see themselves in these “ordinary” women. I want readers to be able to recognize their dreams, fears and insecurities in these women but also be inspired by these women to pursue their dreams, face their fears, and release their insecurities.
I also say that I believe travel should be accessible to everyone. Usually when I say this, I am referring to women traveling alone, and my belief that limited funds shouldn’t hold us back. My privilege has allowed me, at times, to forget that racism is also a hindrance to travel accessibility.
So if I want all women to feel travel is accessible to them, and I want readers to be able to recognize themselves in the women I feature here, then I need to make sure every woman can see herself in the women I am inviting to contribute here.
Budget Your F*cks Like Money
…the concept of my energy’s limited capacity was brought to the surface most clearly after my dad died last summer. Normally I can be a little codependent, worrying about hurting people’s feelings and taking on a lot of guilt that others don’t normally feel. But my grief didn’t leave room for any of these feelings. Just like when a cell phone battery drops below 20%, I went into energy saving mode. I wasn’t being rude or mean, but I was giving myself permission to be a little selfish -- to quit assuming responsibility for other people’s happiness and to walk away from things not meant for me.
Feeling like I needed to say “yes” to an invitation because “it might be good for my career” or because “someone might be offended if I don’t” was no longer something I had the energy to consider, so I just said “no.” And as Sarah Knight says in The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck,* I “quit giving a fuck.”
*Affiliate Link
My Mood Boosting Secret For Surviving Quarantine
I couldn’t control the many things impacting my mood -- sort of like now during quarantine -- so I decided to make a list of things I could control and use it as inspiration on those days when I was feeling “blah!”
The idea wasn’t that I had to do all these things every day, but that on a day when I was struggling to find motivation or accomplish anything, I could look at the list and pick one or two activities to try. I could take a walk, move my body and get fresh air, or I could make something healthy to eat. If I was feeling really bleh I could just start by taking a shower and putting on makeup.
Exploring Southwest Virginia
With such a creative history, it is no surprise the Barter Theatre didn’t let COVID-19 rattle them this summer. Instead of closing up shop, they declared, “The show must go on!” and took their production offsite to a non-functioning drive-in movie theater. At the Moonlite Drive-In, actors perform on a stage built just for this occasion while the action is projected onto the movie screen (sort of like if you were at a concert) while audio is broadcast via the radio.
Walking the Labyrinth with Becky Brett
As the world starts putting things back on us, as they do, we have to be intentional about whether we choose to accept the thing they try to hand us. We can say, “No, thanks! I am good. My hands are full with what I have chosen to carry and I am going to do this instead.” Otherwise you take that thing they want to give you and what are you now dropping from what you wanted to carry?"
The Baggage of Racism & My Role In It
Now is the time to educate ourselves and look for ways that we, white Americans, can help to alleviate the pain of the Black community. Now is the time to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and seek out ways to take some of the burden away.
Now you might be thinking, “Catherine, just stay in your lane. What does this have to do with travel?” Her Bags Were Packed is all about helping women release emotional baggage so we can travel through life lighter -- both at home and on the road. A lot of my work here focuses on solo travel and releasing baggage through the solo travel experience but sometimes we need to start by unpacking the baggage we already have at home.
What It’s REALLY Like To Travel Alone As a Woman
We’ve all heard women’s solo travel described as an incredible, empowering and life-changing experience (because it is!), but that doesn’t mean it’s not without challenges. If I am going to prepare you to take the leap into solo travel, then I feel it’s important to help you understand what it’s really like to travel solo as a woman.
Unpacking Solo Travel with Ruth McNulty
Solo travel has definitely made me more confident. When it gets hard, I know I'm going to survive. I know I can cope with long, dusty road trips. I've been awake for hours, the train is delayed, I've got nowhere to go, I'm hungry, I don't know the language, the food's weird and I've got an upset stomach. Whatever's happening, you get through it. And once you've gotten through something difficult, you can look back and find things to laugh about. I choose to always find the funny side in everything. But it’s a good reminder when I come back to real life. When I'm at work and I'm tired and I'm hungry and I'm stressed out, it's okay. I’ve felt all these feelings before. I can get through it.
How To Safely Scratch Your Travel Itch This Holiday Season
The last two years I have shared tips on how to make the most of your holiday travel. The goal was to inspire you to look at holiday travel in a new way -- by mixing some fun and adventure into the routine and tradition. But this year is an odd year. While I do believe there are ways to travel carefully and minimize risk, I am not encouraging people to travel and gather this year. We’ll focus instead on ways we can scratch the travel itch while staying close to home and keeping our distance.
The Power of Cumulative Revisited
I have no idea what 2020 has in store for me, but I am believing good things and setting clear intentions about what I hope to accumulate more (and less of) in 2020. I understand now, more than ever, the importance of banking choices that will work in my favor when needed.
Do you have a favorite blog post from this year?
What was it and why?