Hi, I’m Brittany
We all have turning points– very specific and defining moments in our lives when everything changes.
Yours may be the day you have a child, or the moment you graduate, with your head held high as you finally grasped your diploma in hand.
Mine, unfortunately, was a little more complicated, and definitely a lot more messy. But despite it all, it somehow landed me living in Northern Germany as a writer, content creator, and ESL teacher.
I’ve learned a lot in the last five years, but there is one thing I know above all else–everything you know and love can all change in a blink of an eye.
The Turning Point
In December 2013, my father was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. And let’s just say–I didn’t handle it very well.
His battle was painful and heart wrenching to witness, the toll cancer puts on a person’s body and soul is devastating. Yet his battle did not last for long; he died only a year and a half after his diagnosis at the age of 43.
Before he passed, he told be that there were so many things that he wished he would have done. He wished that he had traveled more, seen the world. One of his biggest regrets was that he never got to see The Northern Lights.
The Land of Fire and Ice
So, in September of 2015 I decided to turn his dreams into my mission and embarked on my first female solo-backpacking trip.
After putting all of my belongings in a storage unit, I took off for a four week adventure through Iceland and Ireland.
Electrified by the Nordic landscape, I climbed mountains surrounded by erupting geysers. Visited the World’s only Penis Museum. And saw some pretty incredible sights along the way.
That fateful trip abroad didn’t magically heal me, or fix my grief. But it did change my perspective of the world, and gave me the spark I needed to dream again.
I wanted to travel, to explore, to really live my life…but unfortunately, time had run out and it was time to go home.
Over whelmed and Burnt out
Back to the real world. Back to the grind. Working over 70 hours a week in restaurant and tourism.
Wake work eat sleep repeat. Over and over.
An entire year of this numbingly empty cycle… until it all changed.
It was six am and I was standing in the bathroom in my apartment of South Florida. The night had started with grabbing a few drinks after work and ended with me staring numbly at my reflection…at a stranger.
I didn’t recognise the woman staring back at me. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted out of life, and I didn’t give myself a second to even think about it. To check in. To see if I was doing okay. To see if I was even happy.
How did I get here?
What happened to me?
Where did it all go wrong?
So, after some deep self reflection and a pretty rough rock bottom, I made the decision to quit drinking, save up money, and travel the world.
So I started…again. This time, continuing on my journey sober, I sold most of my belongings, and I left to live in the wilderness of Alaska. To find out what else I needed to learn about myself.
After working five incredible months as a seasonal worker in Alaska, I finally saved enough money for my world trip. Not knowing what was going to happen next, I said goodbye to the U.S., and off to Europe I went.
No plan?No problem.
This was absolute freedom. Now I knew why there is this obsession with the travel lifestyle. You go where you want, when you want. And there is no one there stopping you, not even yourself. Because once you go, once you do the thing that always terrified you, you realize you can do anything. So you do.
From Europe I went on to Southeast Asia.
Expect the Unexpected
Somehow, after all of that, I landed up here, in the countryside of Northern Germany after falling in love with a…you guessed it, German!
I make it my goal to learn, to try new things, and most importantly, find joy in the little things, no matter where I go. Whether it’s on one of my global adventures, or in my small little village outside of Hannover. Little moments, little steps, one day at a time.
It’s my wish to share those moments with you, and remind you that it’s never too late to find your version of happiness.
May my stories, tips about resources about life, travel, and living abroad help you on your journey.