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Not Your Average

An Intro

· introduction

I came up with the idea for Not Your Average a couple of years ago when my life completely changed direction. We've all be there, and if you haven't yet chances are you will soon.

A little bit about myself. A year ago I was a university student with a part time job and a member of the cheerleading team. Your type A kind of girl. Or so I appeared to be. But deep down I had a feeling I wasn't on the right path and that I was meant to discover more about myself and travel beyond the borders of my province. So I changed everything. I quit cheerleading. I quit school. I quit my boyfriend. I took a job that would give me experience working with international partners and enough money to set me off on an adventure that would rekindle a spark I have only found when abroad. I stopped living by societies standards and created my own.

I spent this past summer in Southeast Asia, the beginner backpackers destination. Easy to navigate, well spoken English in most areas, and a lot of other backpackers to travel with. I spent most of my time in Thailand hanging out with elephants, swimming in waterfalls, meeting a ton of new friends and falling in love with a country that by the end, felt like home. I spent another month in Indonesia which brought it's own challenges. A 3 day hike up Mount Rinjani just broke top 5.

I am a firm believer that we are not meant to stay in one place. That each and every one of us has something unique to offer and that the world outside of our own should get to experience it. I believe that experience is the greatest teacher and that growth never occurred within a comfort zone.

Recently I have found the only thing that ignites a spark in me as much as travel itself does, is talking about it. Whenever and with whomever will listen to me. During my travels I kept a journal and I will share some of those entries here, along with personal experiences that never made it to paper, while other posts will focus on tips and tools for fellow travellers.

That's the gist for now. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Caylie Smith

Not Your Average

"Whatever is good for your soul, do that"