I Quit...For Real This Time....

I'm another 9 to 5er turned jobless nomad traveling the world, and this is how I got here.

I quit the same job twice. I did it once almost exactly three years ago. Then, a series of events (only a few hours later) and an email from my boss that read something along the lines of "Are you sure you want to do this?" and I was questioning my meticulously-planned decision. It was 2021, and not only did I still have a job (in this economy??), but a job that allowed me to live the most privileged life I'd ever had. How could I be so ungrateful?

But when I put in my notice in October of this year, no one tried to convince me to stay. They could see it coming from miles away. You know how they say a woman leaves a relationship mentally before she does physically? The signs are there, but whether her partner notices, or thinks she won't ever pull the trigger, is a different story.

Anyway, I grew up with the typical Caribbean-American lower middle-class mindset: go to college and get a good job, and you will be set for life. As a kid, I was a pretty talented artist and had a passion for fashion design. My Christmas gifts often centered around my love for art. But eventually because of my knack for math and science, I was steered towards a more practical (and high-paying) degree in STEM. Be an veterinarian! (No, we already have an aspiring vet in the family). An engineer? Cool, that works too! (I eventually ended up in finance, as many NY engineering students did).

So when did my mindset change? In fall 2019. No, actually, the idea was planted in my head way before that in my early corporate America days (circa 2017). A coworker had just joined the company after having backpacked the world for many months. He beamed while sharing his travel photos, and then his smile would melt away as he came back to the reality of where he was telling me this story from....

I also met another "free-spirited" young woman who shared stories of her solo travels around South America - some great, some terrifying. Last I heard, she's off-grid somewhere in South America today. Finally, I'd be remiss not to mention the many travelers in my own family, many of them women who've traveled solo, left jobs that didn't serve them, or found partners with whom they could travel long-term (shoutout to my cousins Christina, Anne Marie, and Allison)!

It was fall 2019 when I crafted my plan to start my world tour. By Jan 2020, I had given up my apartment and moved into a friend’s basement with one goal: saving up beaucoup money to set off by August! Funny how just a month into my plan, the world shut down...but I wasn’t worried. This could only last a month or two...right?

Enter early 2021 and I hadn't been on a plane for over a year. In February, I started THIS travel blog, inspired by my cousin who also had a blog. When I first started, I'd have so much to say that I'd have to force myself to close my laptop at 3am and go to sleep (because I still had that 9 to 5 in the morning, although now fully remote). I had never felt more inspired than when I was reminiscing on my past travels, recording my fitness journey (my other deep passion at the time), and personal thoughts. It was nothing to take seriously, though, just a hobby.

My travel Instagram page went along with it @whimsicallybritt ;)

Enter summer 2021 and I was finally traveling again, this time, accompanied by a digitally nomadic partner, as well as by annoying travel restrictions. But with him, it wasn't so bad. In fact, being able to travel often with an also flexible partner was (and still is) my dream come true! A month into meeting, we took our first trip together to Nashville (where he asked me to be his girlfriend at a waterfall *cute*), then Miami, Key West, and Costa Rica.

During that time, my mind was opened to possibilities that clashed with the stable and predictable lifestyle I'd always lived. He calmed my anxiety while working on the road or when thinking about what I would do for a job once I finally quit this one. He reminded me that I had family and friends to fall back on, at the very worst case. If I had made it this far once, I could always do it again. My confidence in myself rose. I felt if I didn't do THIS NOW, I would always regret it.

Meanwhile, the travel industry was gradually getting better, at least in the West. But countries in Asia remained strict with COVID policies in place: requiring several COVID shots, COVID testing upon arrival that if you didn’t pass, you’d be quarantined, or closing borders altogether (Japan). 

So Boyfriend suggested we start in South America, which, while I want to do a South America tour one day, my heart (and plans) had always been set on experiencing the magic of backpacking Southeast Asia.

The only country I’d ever visited in Asia was Japan and to this day, I’ve been twice, and it’s still my favorite country in the world. Everything was so different, and I wanted to see more of Asia without spending thousands of dollars on flights and weeks of playing catch-up with my sleep after converting to the major time zone differences.

But also...having a partner to travel South America with did sound very appealing and comforting, especially given constant warnings and a story Ms. Free-Spirit told me about her solo travels there.

With Boyfriend's encouragement, I set a date to put in my notice because if I didn’t do it, I probably never would. After I finally broke the news to my job, I called up Boyfriend, and he gave me big kudos while inside, I was trembling. Why didn’t this feel as good as I thought it would? To make matters worse, we got into a discussion (not an argument) that resulted in breaking off the relationship entirely. I knew it was the right thing to do, but then, I laid in bed all night unable to sleep. In one night, I lost my job, my boyfriend, and my confidence about the plan to travel South America. I just couldn’t do it on my own. South America was never what I wanted in the first place.

So I shifted my plan. If I couldn't backpack Asia, I would just make it work, do the responsible thing, and try to settle down and use my job as means to fund my travels on the side. In two years, I’d visited 14 countries, moved back into my own apartment, and laid my two dear elderly cats to rest (which if I’m being honest, was another reason I was so hesitant to leave. Their health was on the decline, and no one could love and care for them the way I did for eight years).

I'd also turned 30. I felt the clock ticking, but I wasn't securing any relationships that served what I wanted and what I now knew WAS possible to have. Although a little more difficult to find, I don't need to "settle down" permanently to find a partner, but if I ever do, I want to do so on my own time, not on society's timeline.

Late 2023 I’d again felt the travel streets calling me. The world had entered a new post-pandemic norm, but Asia completely reopened with no restrictions! My travel page on Instagram had evolved and become my main priority, but I felt I never had enough time to really focus on it (or my YouTube channel). Not to mention, I wasn't keeping up with this blog, and I absolutely wasn't focused on my job (you know, the one that actually paid me). Everything was feeling "halfast."

In March 2024, one of my best friends moved back to her home country to pursue her own business endeavors, and I’d see and talk to my other stateside best friends once in a blue moon. With an ample savings and no cats or relationship, I had nothing tying me down. This was my chance!

I, again, moved out of my apartment, this time to my parents’ home and spent three months there working my job and continuing to save a bit more. When I put in my notice, there were some nerves behind it, but I felt elated. This time, I knew I was making the right decision.

That was a month ago, and now we've reached present-day me, sitting at the dining room table of my friend's apartment in India (the same one who left in March), typing this blog post up since my last post in...June, and I couldn't be more content! I even revamped my website *you like the new India pics? :) *

Whatever happens after this, even if I do end up back in corporate America, I will at least know that I have taken a risk and tried for something I truly wanted, regardless of societal pressures or fears.

I would also like to whole-heartedly thank my family and friends who've all been extremely supportive of this crazy dream whether or not they understand my decision or fear for my well-being. Just know through opening your homes to me, your monetary gifts, engaging with my travel posts on social media, and giving your words of admiration and encouragement, that every one of you have enabled me to feel the happiest I've ever been! <3

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