Hi. My First Blog Post!
Hi there! Welcome to my new blog! Yay!
I'm sure by now you have figured out that my name is Kyle and that I'm getting ready to take a trip of a lifetime! I figured I would introduce myself a bit and tell you a little bit about why I'm getting ready to go on a "world tour."
I was born in Florida, grew up in the Midwest, went to school in the desert, and started my career in the Pacific Northwest. So I've lived all over the US. I've always kind of had a thing for moving and traveling. As of today I've been to 19 countries and 30 states. I love seeing other places, how people live, their cultures, trying new foods.
So, for about the past 6 years, I've been climbing the ladder in the tv news industry as a reporter and anchor. That's been my dream job since I was in elementary school. I loved watching the news growing up. I loved it so much, I would force my brother and sister to play "news" with me, just like "house" or "school." We have videos upon videos of us doing newscasts.
While I still love the energy and rush I get from breaking news, and being able to make a difference, there are some part of the business I never anticipated. If you watch any news, you know it can be incredibly depressing. When you work in news, you have to learn to separate yourself from the stories you are covering sometimes. You can't escape the tragedies. Covering murders, devastating wildfires, corrupt politics. It takes it's toll after awhile and I simply need a break. With that said, I still love it.
So I'm currently in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I never imagined living here. But when I started looking for my next job opportunity, something in my gut told me to try to get a job close to "home" near Chicago. (Milwaukee is the neighboring tv market to Chicago, and it only is an hour and a half away.)
About 6 months after I moved here, my mom passed away. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. And her death took a toll on me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I felt like I wasn't loved anymore, lost my sense of self-identity, and simply lost my passion for everything in life. Fortunately, I'm on the upswing now, but still have my days.
If you've lost anyone close to you, I think you can relate in the fact that a death makes you reflect on your own life. "What is my purpose?" "Who am I, really? "Am I living my life the best way I can?" "Am I achieving all my dreams?" It was those questions and billions more that have raced in my head.
Right after my mom died, everyone kept telling me how proud my mom was of me for being so determined and not letting anything stop me from living out my dreams of being a reporter. There were plenty of rejections, but I kept pushing.
So I started to think about my purpose and my goals in life. I've always had just 2 goals.
1. To travel the world.
2. To make a difference.
Those were two deciding factors in becoming a reporter. I've made plenty of differences, but I haven't done a lot of traveling the world since I started. Maybe I'm being impatient, but realizing I have only one life to live, I know I have to make the most of it.
So factoring work, my mom's death, my personal relationships, I decided to put what society expects of me on hold, and travel the world INDEFINITELY!
It's always been a dream of mine to just pick up, go and see the world. I feel like I'm at the perfect point in my life where I have no reason not to go. And if I don't know, I'll regret it. So why not!?
So this blog, my youtube channel, and every other social media account I create will help document the trip. I want to bring you on this journey with me.
I cannot tell you how excited I am. I'll get into more detailed plans for my trip and things like budgeting in future blog posts, but I just wanted to say hello!
If you have any questions, feel free to comment and let me know. I'll try to answer questions as I go. And if you have any suggestions, send them my way!