Emotional Roller Coasters are allowed!
This past week I had some exciting opportunities and experiences…some that put me a little out of my comfort zone, some that had me excited to be part of something, and some things that made me sad. But one of the best parts of this last weekend was being told its OKAY to have all of those feelings at once!
Connie Podesta was a guest speaker at my Magical Vacation Planner conference last week and boy did I need this woman!! Obviously prior to this week I had never even heard of her and to be honest, when a motivational speaker gets on stage you know the audience all thinks….here we go with the warm fuzzy BS. BUT Connie is different. First of all she’s also a comedian (raise your hand if you need to laugh this year ::raising my hand super high::) so that made her presentation that much better. Second, she wasn’t really about the warm fuzzy in the traditional way.
The main point to her presentation was that everyone has the right to be happy, sad, angry, or however they want to feel. No one can dictate that for you except yourself. At the start of the pandemic I, like most people, was scared. Somewhere after the first month or two of quarantine, I became sad and maybe slightly depressed (I am a people person after all) being stuck at home and not able to see any of my friends. And now that we are (hopefully) seeing a light towards the end of the tunnel. I am starting to feel happy again.
The past year has been ROUGH!! I’m sure I’m not the only one on the struggle bus this year…but when I started to feel happy and excited again, especially for travel, it came with another emotion…guilt. I felt guilty because I know not everyone is ready so I questioned whether to post on social media about where I was going, where I had been, or even trips that I was planning. I am a travel planner for goodness sakes…its what I do! and I was feeling guilty about it. Like Connie said, “you have the right to fight for what makes you feel joy.” There are a lot of controversial thoughts about traveling-whether we should be or shouldn’t be- and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
This is my livelihood. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is my service to others. This BRINGS ME JOY ….so I’m gonna fight for it!
With that being said, I spent from March 18-21st at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort learning from the top executives in the industry. Representatives from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, and Apple Leisure Group All inclusive vacations, all joined us at the conference to let us know that TRAVEL IS BACK!!
We received up to date information on new policies, learned about new things that are being offered in various locations, and…best of all….we are starting to cruise again! After meeting with and listening to this panel of representatives, I cannot tell you how excited I am starting to get for 2021, especially when it comes to travel and helping people have the time of their lives on their first vacation in over a year! You better believe they deserve that perfect trip :-) I’m thrilled to be able to help them navigate their first trip post pandemic… and YES! I have every right to feel that way…. you can ask Connie!