live your passions

We all search for that perfect niche, talent or function that makes us important to others. A place where you can go and feel that you have given a part of yourself and that part has significantly helped, in some way, to make this world a better place for others. I guess what I mean is that we are all looking for our meaning in this world in one way or another. Sometimes this search is more pronounced than other times.

As a mother, I realize that I have importance in life simply by existing because my children need me. But sadly, sometimes that’s not enough. So, I seek to find my meaning through my passions in life. My passions happen to be sharing the wonderful world of travel with others. Working in the travel industry for over a decade in my life, I have really enjoyed planning vacations for others. The world around us is one big playground and I felt the importance of helping others to enjoy this perspective as well. After 9/11, the travel industry was not the same. Clouds full of gloom covered my blue skies with possibilities. The excitement he once felt at the thought of visiting all the wonderful places was replaced by fear. The commercial competition to keep the smallest customer happy was almost impossible. This became the end of my then thriving passion-filled career. This was not an exciting atmosphere that I once flourished in. Negativity breeds more negativity, so I sadly said goodbye to what had been my great passion and began my search for new passions.

Aside from marrying my Prince Charming and starting a family, I hadn’t found a passion that resonated as deeply within me as my job in the travel industry until the recent recession hit. I know I know Very unorthodox time for passions to flow when devastating economic downturns are taking place all around us. But that’s when I found my passion renewed.

My love of travel planning quickly returned as I began my adventures of finding the hidden gems within our beautiful Orange County. Things were looking bleak for us financially, so to keep our spirits up, I started planning days out with my family, which of course had to be on a budget. I found that sharing the experience of these adventures with my husband and children and seeing all the beauty that exists in our local area was just as fulfilling as planning vacations for others. There was the challenge of not being able to splurge, but keep the day exciting enough for all of us to enjoy. In fact, this was more satisfying because I started blogging about our adventures. This served a larger purpose than he expected. I discovered that other families in our surrounding communities were also looking for fun adventures on a budget, and I was able to share our findings with them. Not only this, but our local tourist attractions that once flourished among Afar travellers, were running out of business. Since people didn’t travel very far, they had to stay close. That’s when the idea of ​​a daycation was born. What better place to be a tourist than Southern California, I thought. Experience everything as a tourist would, but there’s no need to spend that heavy check on plane tickets or hotel stays (except for the occasional splurge that’s a “must do” once in a while and experience the true tourist side of the city) . At the end of the day, I love my life and am passionate about what I can offer others in my community. There are so many days to plan and I’m just getting started.