February Editor’s Letter: Passion and Purpose

How to Travel with Purpose : Letter from the Editor
Coimbra, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Porto, Portugal
Porto, Portugal

You may have noticed the well of content at Chicagoings has been a little dry lately, and not just here on the website but on social media too.

Sorry for ghosting you.

During these last three months I’ve been immersing myself in two tasks crucial to any writer worth her Tumi; reading and traveling. Last year I hit a travel wall, so to speak. It’s my goal this year to break through it.

Woke

Can a smell wake you up? Coffee and custard are what the air smelled like that day. I woke one morning to an all-white room full of linen and sunshine and the aroma of Lisbon, and I thought, why am I here? This wasn’t an existential crisis, although I am now at an age where I’m fully entitled to such a meltdown. This was more a longing for purpose in my travel. Literally, why was I there, and what effort had I made to be improved. Like you, I don’t travel for Instagram. I travel to see the world through the eyes of people whose experiences are different from my own, to see things I’ve never seen and to be humbled and hopefully made better. But it was under the French doored balcony of my bedroom in Portugal, above a pastry shop serving pastel de nata, that I thought, I’ve lost my way.

Purpose

This year, I intend to travel in the way my parents taught me — with a purpose. There will be fewer photographers and more language tutors. I’m keeping the spa days, but we’ll also do some volunteering. The latter I’m not posting for obvious reasons, but we can talk about it here. Any questions you have, ask them. I’m responding to all legitimate inquiries in 2019. Any tips you’d like to share, I’m listening and sharing with the class because a lot of you are professional adventurers. Teach me your ways. This year, expect less of me on the gram, and more you — but me too ‘cause sometimes I be feelin cute.

For February, we’re touring Paris (and surprisingly skipping the Eiffel Tower), hiking through the Grand Canyon, and we may even go cave climbing in Portugal. Of course, the overwhelming theme will be Chicago, a city that’s expecting 50-degree weather Monday after experiencing a record-breaking -50-degree windchill only three days prior. For better or worse, there’s no city like this one.

So, stay tuned and get involved. I’ve missed you.