What a Year - 2014 Recap of Go Seek Explore

Now that 2014 is about to come to a close, I'd like to reflect on the year in terms of Go Seek Explore. I can't believe how quickly this year went by! And as with every turn of a new year, I'm amazed at how much can happen and change within 365 days.

I created Go Seek Explore on May 13, 2014

I returned to the US from my job in Italy in January and it wasn't long before I started to get itchy feet. While trying to figure out when to move to Arizona (between DC and Seattle), I spent a majority of my day applying to full time jobs and daydreaming about traveling to new places during the rest. Go Seek Explore became my outlet for writing and travel, two things I love to spend my time doing.

...and then I went back to Europe! I didn't know how long it would be before my next international trip, especially since I came home from Italy with very low funds. I was excited to secure a short term job working in Europe over the summer before I moved to Arizona.

Popular Posts on GSE in 2014

14 Europe Experiences You Need To Have In Your Lifetime

I love Europe and don't know many people who don't also love it. Whether you're studying abroad, backpacking, honeymooning, or taking a short trip, there are some experiences in Europe that I believe everyone should experience at least once.

8 Seattle Stereotypes That Are Actually True

After living in the Seattle area for almost 18 years, I enjoyed writing a piece that confirmed all the stereotypes of Seattle-ites. That's true, no one uses umbrellas even though it rains almost every day. It's weird. Go figure. As my most popular post ever, it seems like other Seattle-ites agree with me, too.

The ABCs of Studying Abroad in Florence

W is for Wine...and lots of it. This was such a fun one to write and made me nostalgic about my study abroad experience and Florence in general.

10 Reasons Why You Should Travel After College

This was one of my first posts on GSE. I originally wrote it on my old blog to test out the waters with travel blogging. When it went viral on social media, I knew I was ready to create a travel blog!

8 Tips For First-Timers at Oktoberfest

I wrote this one originally for The College Tourist. Oktoberfest 2013 was amazing and I hope to return another year! These eight tips will be helpful to anyone going to Munich's favorite festival in the future.

Published Pieces

Some of my work was featured on sites like Thought Catalog, Wayfaring, and The College Tourist. I also collaborated with other bloggers for guest posts as well (and you'll find others' guest posts on here, too).

GSE Goals & Updates

My number one goal through this blog is to aim to inspire people to travel more. That hasn't changed since the creation of the blog, and never will.

New Design in September GSE got a much-needed makeover this fall. One of my 2015 goals: get a logo created.

Added Social Networks Bloglovin' (new! Go check it out), Facebook, and Instagram. Instagram reached 1,000 followers this month, which is a nice breakthrough as we head into 2015.

Countries Visited in 2014: 6

Italy, USA, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany

Favorite Country Visited: Germany. Because it's awesome. And Germans are cool. And German beer is the best.

Cities Visited in 2014: 15

Domestic: Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; Newport Beach, CA; Laguna Beach, CA; Tri Cities, WA; Boise, ID; Park City, UT; Phoenix, Arizona; Sedona, Arizona

International: Florence, Italy; Paris, France; Vienna, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic; Dresden, Germany; Berlin, Germany

Favorite City Visited: It's a tie between Vienna and Laguna Beach. It was great to get to go back to Vienna for nine days (my first visit was just a day trip) because it is such a cool city and there are so many things to do. One of my favorite things was going to a concert in the Schonbrunn Palace.

Laguna Beach, which is basically opposite from Vienna, provided a nice family getaway to the warm, sunny, beaches of Southern California. I had been to Newport a dozen times but never Laguna (and they're so close!) and I have to say that I fell in love with this beach town.

2015 Travel Plans (so far):

-Denver, Colorado: January -Butte, Montana: August -Newport, California: December

Potential plans include New York City, the Grand Canyon, Chicago, and DC (working on it!) and at least one international trip. I'm looking into Eastern and/or Southeast Asia. I'll need to plan any trips around holidays and vacation days, once I accrue them from work.

Travel Goals For 2021:

Wait...2021? It's only 2015!

My overarching travel goal is to step foot on each of the six inhabited continents by the time I'm 30 years old. I'm currently 23 and have been to North America and Europe. This is 1/3 of the way, but there is still so much to see. Since I currently hold a full-time job (and a part-time one on weekends), my travel schedule is more limited so I gave myself a 6.5 year window to complete the goal. It's also somewhat vague as of now, but I figure I have 6.5 years to continue defining and shaping it.

I made this goal after reading The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillibeau (definitely recommend!) from being inspired by his accomplishments and the "quests" of others.