Adventure Begins Today

This is not an April Fool’s story – I really have left my stable, full time job to start my next chapter. My New Adventure Begins Today.

To explain how I’ve got to this point, I need to go back to 2010 when I first experienced travel properly in my life. Yes, I’d visited places in Europe on holiday and I’d ventured across the Atlantic to New York one summer but 2010 was different. Spending time in Rwanda working with pupils and teachers in Kayonza then spending the summer with my rucksack travelling through Spain, Morocco and Poland opened my eyes to a world out there needing to be seen.

It took me a little while to pluck up the courage to actually get started but in 2013 I joined a GA Study Tour to Ethiopia and loved it. I wrote my first blog while on a train from Slovenia to Hungary the following year.

Since then I’ve written sporadically as I’ve explored new places. I’ve been lucky enough to travel through Singapore and Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, Cuba, Mexico, South Africa and Namibia, the Baltic countries and China.

Whilst all this travelling was being done, I focused on living my life to a mantra of ‘Work. Save. Travel. Repeat.’ I worked long hours in education and made the most of school holidays to see more of the world.

But by Easter 2023 I knew this couldn’t continue. Even a week in Cuba hadn’t revived me – I couldn’t even find the energy to blog about my trip. I was burnt out. Fast forward to the end of 2025 and I had spent the previous 2 years rebuilding and focusing on finding what made me happy.

Along the way I’ve learnt to stop hiding I’m deaf and have issues with my balance in fear it’ll be used against me. I’m open about how I lip read and sometimes life is much simpler when I don’t have my hearing aids in. I’ve rediscovered my love of dancing and attempts to play tennis. I’ve found a group of friends who get I can only manage group conversations and busy environments for so long before I’ve run out of energy from the intense concentration needed to follow what’s going on. To have people who understand this, for the first time in my adult life, has been a game-changer.

1 April 2026 sees me start a new chapter with some major life changes on their way. Work. Save. Travel. Repeat, has served me well but I no longer want to let my career drive my decisions in life so I’ve decided a new mantra for my life is needed for this next chapter.

EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. ENJOY.

I’m a happier person when I’m found walking in fields or climbing hills, ambling through the streets of towns and cities, experiencing different cultures and getting new dance steps wrong. 

So My New Adventure that Begins Today is flipping my life upside down. What makes me happy will drive my decisions in life and how I earn money will be to enable this – and hopefully enable me to inspire and support others to live their best, happiest life.

After 2 decades of working in education in both schools and a Local Authority, I have now entered the world of being self-employed, ready to build a life where being able to adventure near and far is at the heart of everything I do. 

First, the experience and knowledge I have gained related to education, school leadership and special educational needs isn’t going to be forgotten completely and I will be sharing this through Navigating SEND – a provider of online courses for families, education settings and Local Authority caseworkers (find me @navigatingsend on Insta).

Second, and more importantly, I want to build something that allowing me to focus using my passion for the outdoors, travel, exploration and wellbeing through spending time in nature by becoming an Outdoor Coach and WALX Master – in other words, earn money doing what makes me happy too. I am now officially an ICF member and I am undertaking 3 ICF accredited courses in coaching, NLP and outdoor coaching through the She Leads Academy and The Therapy Adventure (see @GLJcoaching on Insta) – and, before you say anything, I know 3 courses is excessive but we all know that I like to do things the hard way!

And, in recognition of the start of My New Adventure, I’ve wiped all my old blog posts ready to start afresh with a clear focus. This blog will be about my adventures – past, present and future. I’ll be sharing my journey and I hope you’ll join me along the way.

But, before anything else, I need to get packing – South America here I come – adventure first, earn money second.

EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. ENJOY.