I feel like I’ve written this so many times, but:

I made a vow this year to travel at least once a month because there are things that I’m looking for in life that I cannot find “at home”. So, at month 5 of this vow, I just wanted to check in and say what’s been working, and what hasn’t:

BENEFITS TO MONTHLY TRAVEL:

So I wanted to do this to not only expose myself to different patterns but to also expose myself to different people, places and stories because that’s what shapes how I tell my stories (it also doesn’t hurt in terms of levels of happiness).

Thus far, I’ve made it to: New York, Seattle, St. Louis (unfortunately), Canada, and Los Angeles.

The insane thing about this has to be the fact that it works!

I’ve truly been meeting amazing people and those chance meetings have furthered one or more of my goals professionally or personally. You think I’m just saying this in jest? Well…

New York

Gah! What place can be more inspiring? Okay, I know that there are more inspiring places out there but, for a creative/creator of any sort, you’d be hard-pressed to not find inspiration in the mean streets of New York.

I wrote about this at length in a recent post so I won’t go crazy with detail but I will say that I met so many creative people who were so open to me enjoying their work, talking about their work and even watching them work. These are experiences that I really don’t get here. I get to see a finished product or hear of praises about work, but I don’t get to pick the mind’s of artists the way that I did in New York.

In New York there was this unspoken rule that certain types of creators hang out in certain places. So, if I wanted I wanted to find the sculptors, I did. Painters, to the right! Writers, a little dispersed but also at coffee shops! Creatives have spaces riddled throughout all of New York and it’s just beautiful to be around. It’s so unlike home…

Canada

Oh, Canada. What a beautiful Victorian-style place, and I only got a taste of your beauty (Victoria, British Columbia).

Canada was where I saw different types of people, ate totally different (and addictively delicious) food, and saw beautiful architecture.

Canada was one of the spaces where I kept running into gentlemen who wanted to tell me their stories. I love a conversation where I get to sit back, listen and actually learn something so I loved that they chose me to share with. For me, a big part of creating is being moved by the things that I go out of my way to see; the people that I pay to travel and potentially encounter; and, the places that inspire different moods and color schemes.

Canada was inspiring for a different reason than New York, but still inspiring.

Seattle

I’ve been loving Seattle and visiting quite a bit lately. The most recent visit included a ton of steps, shared meals (and snacks), laughs, museums, comedy shows and nice hotels.

Seattle also gave me an amazingly inspiring evening of enjoying a beauitful mind up close and a random opportunity to connect with another (but more seasoned screenwriter). This person has ended up being such a beautiful bloom within my life and we continue to check-in and encourage each other. This person, an established screenwriter, has taken me under their wing as a screenwriter and has proven that they are here for me and my progress so quickly!

As we age it becomes harder to find people that you can actually believe in when they tell you that they’re here for you. People tend to struggle in that department, but this beautiful soul struggles not!

Seattle gave me endless fun, good food, and a screenwriting mentor! I’d count that as an amazing boost to my professional endeavors. And I’m so glad that I went (and continue to go)!

Los Angeles

Oh! But, LA!

I could write a love letter to LA and it’d sound preposterous but I’d mean every word. I feel like, at some point, I should write about why my trip to LA felt so tranformative for me, but I truly don’t have the words right now and have been working hard to continue to live within that joyous space, even thoguh I came home to terrible news.

LA ended up being a push for me…

Los Angeles took its time with my visit down to the food. I felt like this particular trip was my push to “Keep going”, “Don’t give up”, “It’s working” and I truly felt that each day there and many days after.

Again, we’ll visit this at length later, but for now:

Travel and be open to what the world may have to offer you (in terms of people and opportunities). It’s certainly worked for me.

Although I may be slowing down on my monthly travel goals for a month or two, I can still be driven by the proof-positive experiences that I’ve already had to rejoin my monthly adventures as soon as I can. It may feel liike a bit of escapism given all that’s going on, but we could all use a little escape.

Best,
Bree ❤️‍🔥