Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Elizabeth.
Jessica, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was in college I got a scholarship to study abroad and spent 3 months in Granada, Spain. That experience has forever left an impression on me and created an intense desire for travel. The beauty of living in Europe was that you could literally hop on a plane to a different country every weekend and because flights and bus tickets were so cheap I took full advantage of travelling around as much as possible.
Every weekend in Spain was an adventure because there was always something fun to see! I left with cultural interactions that were far more valuable than time, close friends, and a deep passion for travel. I graduated college, got a 9-5, and dreamed of travelling all over which is a little hard with only two weeks of PTO. Rather than feel let down by my situation I set out on a mission. I started researching places you could visit on the weekend from Dallas. If I couldn’t travel the world I would travel Texas.
I would take trips to go sand surfing at Monahan’s Sand Hills, experience German culture in New Braunfels, and visit the Texan wine country in Fredericksburg and more. I was living a travel dream in my state that had so much to offer and like any millennial posting pictures on Instagram. Slowly people started to follow along and ask about the places I was visiting or for recommendations. One day a brand randomly emailed me and offered to pay me to write about something relevant to what I had been posting about! I couldn’t believe it! Slowly I learned about this world about blogging where I could get paid to share what I love and dived in! I spent all my free time doing research and attending events. I was determined to make this a career as I had seen others do. A few months ago I was able to move full time into the blogging world and it has been an exciting journey ever since.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I started the blogging and Instagram journey late. In the last few years it has grown highly saturated and it’s harder to grow. I’ve had to continue to work on that.
Additionally, there are just so many things I didn’t know. Being a blogger means you need to be an expert on pitching, SEO, email marketing, coding, social media, and more. Every day I learn something new and wish I had known it sooner.
For a long time I also struggled with motivation. In Psychology it’s talked about how if you do anything you love for money, our brains start rewiring to get the enjoyment from the money and not the activity and it can cause the passion to go away. Between that and comparison it’s easy to get frustrated and give up. It took me going back to my roots of blogging to rekindle the fire and to give me the motivation to push through when I feel like I’m not good enough.
My Curly Adventures – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As a travel writer, my current focus is my Texas Travel Series. My Curly Adventures serves as a resource for anyone in Texas who wants to get away for a weekend and isn’t sure where to go. It’s also there to serve as inspiration that you can live a travel lifestyle even if you have a 9-5 and can’t travel the world.
I share unique itineraries and travel inspirations of fun places in Texas. If you plan on a visiting a city, you can go to my site and find fun things to do. If you are looking for a trip, my social media and website can serve as inspiration to plan your next trip.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me success is being able to provide value and to see constant growth. I only recently started focusing heavily on the Texas Travel Series and it has been a major marker of success for me. I know people are enjoying it because I get people messaging me all the time telling me how they found me because a friend recommended them or asking for suggestions of places to go. I’ve gotten to speak on TV about the series and share my Texas passion for others! If I can continue to inspire people to travel more than I think I’ve been successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mycurlyadventures.com
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
First photo: Jeremy La Rue Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
