Photojournal: Rome 2019 vs Rome 2022

Hello everyone!

I know I have been MIA for quite awhile now and I don’t have much of an explanation for it other than…life happens! During my absence I had entered into a fulfilling new career field that allowed me to help startups and entrepreneurs from around the world immigrate to the United States. It was such a refreshing change from my old career path (commercial real estate appraisal) which I had no passion for at all. My family are also Cambodian refugees so it was really rewarding coming full circle and giving back in some way to the immigrant community.

I grew and excelled quickly in my new role, eventually taking on a middle management position. However, my new career path and fast-paced startup life quickly consumed me. Things got even more chaotic after the little startup I was working for got acquired by a large startup company. It started to feel like the work we were doing wasn’t really about helping the clients anymore but all about the bottom line, and as a child of immigrants this made me uncomfortable. Additionally the work/life balance became essentially non-existent and I was so stressed out from the new toxic work culture and leadership that I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained ALL. THE. TIME. I felt physically sick every single day. I couldn’t even enjoy evenings, weekends, or PTO without feeling like I needed to work several hours or suffer the consequences due to condescending and gas-lighting executive leadership.

Overall, It was extremely unhealthy and not a sustainable way to live. I really needed to take a step back to rest, re-align, and figure out how to have a healthier and happier balanced life. It’s been hard but I am learning that a job title does not define who we are, and there is so much more to life and who we are than climbing the corporate ladder for companies that would drop you in a second. This is even more apparent in light of the massive layoffs recently. So now I’m going to try again, because who says you can’t change careers more than once?! While I’ve enjoyed working in immigration law, I eventually hope to pivot to the nonprofit industry in either an operational, grants administrator/writer, or program associate/coordinator role and contribute to a mission that I’m passionate about…but that’s a topic for another day!

So I’ve taken some time to travel and to pursue professional development courses. In addition to professional development, I also really wanted to make time for the personal activities that used to bring me joy. One thing I really wanted to get back to was blogging again! I have missed writing about my travels and hiking adventures on the blog. I have so much to share with you all! Since I last posted on the blog we’ve taken trips to Croatia, Portugal (twice!), Italy (yes, again! Exploring regions such as Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, and more!), Spain, Morocco, Malaysia, and Thailand (again!) – with many more international trips to come! There have also been many amazing hiking adventures, though I’ll admit we drastically slowed down on hiking due to my long work hours and mental exhaustion. It’s definitely a hobby I’d like to make more time for again!

I also want to be more open, honest, and vulnerable in my guides and stories. I am eager to share both the good and the bad in my travel and outdoor adventures, especially as a Southeast Asian American woman. I am hopeful that my honest stories and tips will help other fellow Asian travelers and hikers out there (especially Asian women). At the very least, I hope that I can reach a community that can fully relate to what I have experienced as well.

With all that being said, I am very excited to share all of my stories and advice for your future adventures again! I’m starting off with a quick little photojournal of my trips to Rome in 2019 and 2022. I never finished my Italy girls trip series back in 2020 so I thought it would be fun to do a little comparison photojournal post. My husband and I visited Italy in summer 2022 and the vibes were very different compared to my 2019 girls trip (will elaborate on this in future blog posts).

The 2022 Rome photos were taken around 6-7 am on Republic Day. The 2019 photos were taken at midday. It is definitely worth getting up early to explore these iconic sites without the huge crowds! Although, we didn’t realize it was a holiday when we went to explore that morning in 2022. There were areas filled with military and police after 7 am for a parade. Quite the sight to see!

Enjoy and until next time!

-Kelsie

P.S. I will also be working on improving and revamping the blog website/content throughout the next few months. Stay tuned!

UPDATE January 1, 2024: Well…I did not follow through on the things I said I was going to do above! A few months after posting this, I ended up starting my own business and got a full-time gig working for an immigration law firm, so things have been pretty busy again. I can happily say that I am nowhere near as stressed as I was at the company I left in January 2023 though! Spending time on my blog is one of my many goals for 2024 and I am absolutely determined to do so this time. I have even more to write about now with two additional trips taken since this post was published in April 2023 (France and Guatemala!) and a nice summer/fall hiking season. Can’t wait to catch up on tons of adventures, stories, and guides for you all again! -Kelsie