This year’s been a wild ride of learning, scary moments, and coming back stronger. As I sit back to think about how fast it all zipped by, it hits me—comparison really does steal our joy. We’re all guilty of scrolling through those perfect pics on social media, sizing up our own journeys against the flawless moments posted for the world to see.
But here’s the deal: I want to ditch the comparison game. The overnight successes seen on social media do not happen overnight. Some people are lucky and reach success very quickly but for the majority of us, it takes years. I want to share about my year, the unfiltered parts of life, and finding beauty in imperfection. I want more people to see that the journey takes steps and actions and that it isn’t instant. I will try to disclose as much as I feel comfortable with in the next few paragraphs!
Professional Career / Side Hustles
My side business, BMS Models, provided promotional staff, promotional inventory, and asset management for over 150 events this year. Through the business, we also purchased a van to transport the promotional assets. We invested in a second related business – Beverage Bellas, a strolling beverage skirt, which is available for rent in South Florida – if you are in the area and have an upcoming promotional brand party or event… hit me up!
9-5: I received an adjustment raise at work a few months ago. It was long overdue, but I am still underpaid. I excelled at my performance review, but there were no further raises, promotions, or bonuses at work.
Content Creation
Blog: I launched this blog back in September along with a biweekly newsletter. This blog has been an investment of love, time, and money. So far I have received almost 2600 unique visitors to the website since launching. The blog currently has 16 blog posts mostly surrounding a series on “The Ultimate Guide for Solo Female Travel”. In 2024 I expect to finish the guide, and continue releasing a blog post every week on different travel related topics along with a biweekly newsletter.
Newsletter: I currently have 43 subscribers to the newsletter and I love packing it with relevant travel info. I hope you are finding value in receiving the Globetrotter’s Gazette: The Queen’s Edition every 2 weeks.
Instagram: I posted 68 times to Instagram over the last year. The highest number of views one of my reels achieved was over 12K. I actually burnt out of creating reels because of trending sounds (all reels sounded and looked the same) and the short clickbait reels. Also, if I see “read the caption” on one of the really short videos, I’m mostly annoyed and will check if the creator has more content like that. If so, I tend to unfollow. I earned a $100 bonus from IG for my reels.
Affiliate Marketing: I also earned $100 through affiliate marketing for Camp Indie!
FAM / Press Trips: I was invited on my first FAM Trip this year to Casa Alternavida in Puerto Rico. If you don’t know what a FAM trip is, a familiarization trip, or FAM for short, is a trip designed for traditional media, social media influencers and bloggers to learn about a destination, a tourism operator, a hotel chain, or a tourism board, and sometimes, all of the above.
Podcasts: I was invited as a guest speaker on 3 different podcast episodes. If you would like to listen in on some of these episodes, make sure to click here.
Conferences: I volunteered at the Latino Travel Fest in NYC in March, attended Mochileando Masterclass and WITS‘ in Puerto Rico in April and May, healed my inner child at Camp Indie in June, and had a great time at Tales of the Cocktail‘ in New Orleans in July.
Health
This year wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It was messy, raw, and real. There were moments when I thought, “Can this day get any worse?” Surprisingly, it did get worse, only to turn around and surprise me with something unexpectedly great. It’s funny how life throws those curveballs when you least expect them. My mom has to undergo PETScans a few times a year. Every single time we experience the emotional rollercoaster of abnormal results requiring further analysis.
Early in the year, I began to plan my mom’s 70th birthday trip. A few weeks before the trip, we received the results from mom’s latest PETScan with additional suspicious nodes on it. Her oncologist decided to have additional testing done. WE thought we would end up missing the trip completely. Luckily, the Dr. cleared her for travel but the suspicious nodes will be studied further in an upcoming PET Scan.
Regarding my own health, I have graduated to go to the oncologist every 6 months instead of every 4 months. This yet another step in the right direction. I am so excited to see when my oncologist says its time to stop treatment.
Travel
In 2023 I slowed down… a lot. In 2022, I was traveling every 3 weeks, but in 2023, I decided to take it a bit slower. I blew through all my travel funds in 2022, so I had to be intentional about the trips I could take this year. 2023 brought me back to Puerto Rico not once but twice for a total of almost 3 weeks, deepening my love for the island’s culture and its incredible people. Puerto Rico is one of my favorite places as it holds a very special place in my heart. I stayed at a friend’s house and also at a women-only hostel and enjoyed all of my time on “La Isla Del Encanto”!
Healed My Inner Child at Camp Indie in Kent, CT!
Camp Indie is an Adult Summer Camp for Digital Nomads, Entrepreneurs, and Adventure-Seekers! As a daughter in a Latino household, there were very few places that I was allowed to sleep over. Summer camp was never a possibility because of cost and also the fact that I would sleep away from home. I always wanted to attend as a child and was never allowed to and it was everything I dreamed camp would be. There were cabins and s’mores and camp fires and so many things to do. I loved that this was the most laid back “conference” I have ever been to. We enjoyed so many camp activities and also some grown up activities. I am looking forward to returning in 2024.
My Mom’s Birthday Trip!
My mom turns 70 in 2024, but because of her rare cancer, I decided to take her on her 70th bday trip a year early. We went to Rome, Florence, and Vatican City. Then we flew to Athens and spent 3 days there. We went on a 7-day cruise to Kusadasi, Turkey; Patmos, Greece; Haifa; Old Jerusalem; Nazareth; Galilee and Ashdod, Israel; Bethlehem, Palestine; Limassol, Cyprus and Santorini, Greece, before returning to Athens. From Athens, we flew to Barcelona, Spain, for 3 days and then to Paris for the final 3 days. She had an amazing time and is always raving about this trip. I feel very fortunate that I was able to make her travel dreams come true. I invested $7,000 and 180,000 miles and points for the trip.
50 Best Bars List
Based off of last year’s list I visited a few of the bars on the list:
Paradiso in Barcelona: So much creativity with flavor and presentation at this bar! I loved all of the drinks we tried. Mom had a mocktail that she really enjoyed.
Baba Au Rum in Athens: Over 400 different rums to sample. They have some very interesting rum based drinks and the menu has won awards for the design and typeface.
The Clumsies in Athens: had amazing drinks and met some really fun people.
Double Chicken Please in NYC: make reservations for The Coop
Attaboy in NYC: GIve yourself time to stand in line. This bar is small and you may have to wait a while.
Cafe La Trova in Miami: Sit at the bar or reserve a table. The live music is a lot of fun.
New York City:
I ended up in NYC twice for a total of almost 3 weeks. I visited some of the 50 best bars on the list. I also went to see a Broadway play based on songs by Britney Spears called Once Upon a One More Time and I definitely recommend going to see it if you can. It is such a fun show! It reminded me a bit of Wicked.
I also visited a Puerto Rican institution in Brooklyn, the Caribbean Social Club or Toñitas with a friend and we had a great time!
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Dating Life: I went on 7 first dates, 4 second dates, and 3 third dates. I had a good time on some of these dates but was not overly enthused with any one to even mention them to my family. I find it harder to date post cancer. For now, I am happily single and love to spend time with loved ones, and take myself out on dates.
Goals for 2024:
- Being invited on 5 FAM or press trips.
- Writing 75-100 blog posts.
- Doubling my current income
- Paying off my debt.
- Pitching to 50 brands / tourism boards.
- Creating one product.
As I raise a glass to 2023, my heart is full of gratitude.
While this year held difficulty and grief, the joys and blessings far outweighed the hardships. My business expanded, allowing me to bring promotional experiences to even more audiences. My blog grew, providing a platform to inspire and uplift. And I was gifted with quality time and rich memories with my brave mother and others I love.
There were certainly moments of fear and uncertainty, but I enter 2024 with renewed passion, purpose, and perspective. Every year since 2018 has taught me that life is precious and unpredictable – so I aim to live fully, give generously, and appreciate each marvelous moment I’m given. The future is unwritten, but I’m eager to face it head-on, continue growing, and always see the beauty in the journey. Cheers to a new year and new adventures!
ES