The Bros went on an incredible journey of 400 days traveling around the world. A lot has changed in my world since then. Hell, a lot has even changed since One Year Later. So Two Years Later…
The Highs
Becoming an uncle once again is for sure one of the highlights of the past year. Now I can also add Godfather to my resume. When my nephew was born, I was a long way from home in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It’s been nice to be around with my niece Stella through all the moments I missed with Anthony. Another high point was utilizing my budget skills to help my parents get their mortgage and car paid off in full. I’m a firm believer in debt-free is the way to be, so it’s awesome to see them finally become debt free after all they sacrificed for myself and my sister growing up.
After giving the 9-5 another go around and recouping some funds, Nick and I both realized that the road is still calling us. We spent many nights discussing ways that we can make travel financially sustainable for us. Amazon FBA, virtual assistants, opening up a hostel, or becoming street performers were tossed around. We left no stone unturned. After much deliberation, we realized there was one opportunity that would not only put money in our pockets as we traveled, but would enable us to give back to people and possibly develop a deeper connection to the communities we may find ourselves in. Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
We completed a TEFL Certification Course and have begun teaching English online. We plan to teach not only online, but face to face in local schools as we travel as well. Although we’ve just begun our teaching journey, we’ve found that the work is very rewarding. It feels good to be able to help people with the gift of a new language. It can literally change someone’s life for the better, and we are truly stoked to be able to start making connections through teaching around the world.
Although we are now teachers, we continue to be students of the Spanish language. If anything, learning how to teach a foreign language has only enhanced our ability to learn a foreign language. It’s as if we have the insider’s playbook now. Day by day, paso a paso, we are enjoying the process. We look forward to traveling and teaching in Latin America where we will be fully immersed in the language and our speaking skills will undoubtedly improve even more so.
The Lows
It’s safe to say that the past year has been tough on everyone. For myself, it was no different. My darkest times of the year came in the form of my first encounter with a panic attack and crippling anxiety. It first crept up in early 2020, when I was simply trying to handle too much at once. My strength had always been my ability to juggle 15 balls in the air without missing a beat. All of a sudden, it seemed like I had reached my limit, and my body was telling me so.
Between the stresses of taking on more responsibility at work, staying ahead of deadlines for my TEFL coursework, maintaining my self-imposed deadline of weekly blog posts, helping manage my family’s financials and trying to carry on a social life, all the balls came falling to the ground.
Panic attacks are freakin’ scary. Constant anxiety that you can’t explain or keep at bay is a feeling I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I had never felt this way before and relied on friends and family to help me through it. In time, I started to feel better. I had a trip to Jamaica coming up to celebrate a family wedding. A few weeks later another trip was on the docket to New Orleans for Travelcon. The Bros were pumped to make some valuable connections, mix it up with like-minded travelers in the Big Easy and meet some of our travel network from social media face to face. Travel juices were flowing. I was amped to dust off the backpack again. Not so fast.
Whispers of the Coronavirus popping up in Seattle and soon after, NYC, would end all these so-called plans. Since then, COVID-19 has turned everyone’s lives upside down.
Like many, I’m sure, I didn’t handle the situation very well. My dreams of traveling the world and teaching seemed to be ripping apart at the seams. The situation in New York was getting worse by the day, and my friend living in Lombardy, Italy, was alerting me of the horrible news in her region that seemed destined to come our way.
I didn’t want to believe what was happening. I went from being someone who never watches the news, to being glued to it. For the first time it felt like what was on the news was impacting my life. I basically didn’t go outside for 2 months due to fear of the virus. Between this and worrying about future plans, low and behold, the crippling anxiety reared its ugly head again.
The Lessons
I really believe that as we go through tough times in life, we have to not ask ourselves “why is this happening to me?”, but instead ask “what is this trying to teach me?” In these rough patches is where we experience growth. I’m thankful that I went through this, because it truly makes me a better person. In the past, I didn’t understand a thing about panic attacks or anxiety and I couldn’t relate to a single person’s feelings who went through them. Now I know. I understand what many people, more than I had realized, are going through. I can be a better person who is more empathetic to what suffering from mental health issues looks and feels like.
One lesson I learned through all this is that I needed to slow down. I scaled my hours back at work to inject more free time in my life. More time with friends and family. More time to get outside. More time to spend on things I enjoy like blogging and pursuing my teaching career. I had to learn the lesson the hard way, but I needed to stop being a workaholic, despite it being my nature.
Another lesson I learned is that I needed to change my relationship with things I can’t control. Again, even though it’s in my nature to be in control, obsessing over it is just not a healthy way to live. There’s always reminders in life that we cannot be in control. Coronavirus laid the smackdown on all of us. We can’t control a pandemic. It’s an important lesson. I had to learn to let go of things I can’t control in the past, present and future. I needed to find a way to be more present.
To help me find my footing, I found that incorporating some daily habits helped me get into a better headspace. Meditation has been my daily anchor and it puts me in a good frame of mind to start each day. Meditation is about being mindful, more aware and more present. Being present and being happy go hand in hand, a lesson I learned while traveling around the world. Since I’ve returned home, I often would find myself reminiscing about those past travels or dreaming about the future ones. It’s okay to reminisce or dream, but for me, I had to learn to be more present and find happiness while not traveling as well.
I’ve found that reading more and having a better sleep schedule have helped. Cutting down on substances such as coffee, alcohol and smoking have probably played a role in me feeling better as well. I’ve turned off the news and am back to being optimistic about the situation, even if it is out of my control.
Now and the Future
Despite not being able to attend concerts, sporting events, parties and large gatherings, I’ve had a lot of fun this summer doing simple things. Backyard social distanced BBQ’s with friends and good conversation. More home cooked meals with family. Exploring Long Island and places I’ve never been, even though I’ve spent the bulk of my life here. Learning how to swing golf clubs and gain a new appreciation for the sport.
I’ve traveled through Netflix and by meeting students from around the world that I teach online. Continuing to connect with the travel community through social media has been therapeutic as well.
Since the pandemic began, it’s been evident that we need to appreciate and be thankful for everything we do have. Life on this Earth is fragile. The events of 2020 have shown us just how quickly things can change. Planning is great, but adapting is a necessity. When you peel back everything, it’s really the simple things that matter most.
The re-launch of Bros Around the Globe is coming. Like everyone, The Bros will adapt. We may not be able to cross borders as quickly or easily as in the past. Maybe a country we really want to visit just won’t be on the table. Who knows? As we will be teaching, we plan on traveling slower as it is. In a sense, our upcoming travels will be something we are quite used to. Winging it, spontaneity and flying by the seat of our pants. Stay tuned folks. Bros Around the Globe 2.0 is coming.
READY TO TRAVEL THE WORLD?
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