Welcome to the second edition of Behind the Blog! Last week we got up close and personal with @lauritacambios, and now we get to celebrate the born day of @Jilianicoleg. And you know what that means… time to tell-all! Blogosphere, meet the Adventure Club’s soulful scholar and badass bosslady, @Jilianicoleg.
AC: Ok, let’s dive right into this. All-time favorite international city?
J: For its architecture and vibe – Paris, France. The city is beautiful rain or shine (and, at times, it rains a lot!). Paris is a city extraordinarily rich with history and offers the traveler with an inquisitive mind a captivating day.
AC: Trip, country, or experience that’s highest on your bucket list?
J: WALK the Great Wall of China, SEE the sunrise over Bagan Temples in Myanmar, or RIDE the Glacier Express in Switzerland.
AC: What’s your very first perspective-altering travel memory?
J: The most impactful perspective-altering travel memory leaving me entranced was after visiting a third world country striving for progress while still entwined in an age-old vicious battle between government and rebel forces. Observing the country’s citizens’ commitment to fighting for a better tomorrow, that they may never see given the length of this war, was powerful and inspiring.
AC: What is the largest lesson traveling has taught you?
J: Acquiring perspective through various lenses including poverty, innovation, injustice, and cultural customs. Travel has, and still does, puts life at any moment into perspective, as well as, continually reminds how vast our world truly is and how small of a space we alone truly occupy within it.
AC: Your best piece of advice for someone who wants to start investing in travel?
J: The greatest advice I have is best stated by quotes, two of my favorites. If you know me, this shouldn’t surprise you, and if you don’t know me, now you do:
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But it’s okay. The journey changes you, it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, on your body. You take something with you and, hopefully, you leave something behind too.”
“When it comes down to it it’s pretty simple, adventure is what you make it. And whether it’s the travel, the discovery, or just the feeling of letting go, the only way we’ll ever find out is to get out and do it. Enjoy the ride.”
AC: Okay, now the fun stuff. Favorite way to work out?
J: By moving. The usual suspects include a trusty pair of tennis shoes, iPod shuffle, Nike Run Club App, a wandering mind and endless pavement beneath my feet; or, bare feet, ballet position one, a barre, shaking legs, and the best Master Barre Instructor in Miami, co-creator of Definitive Barre Fitness, ensuring eyes are up, chest back, and legs straight.
AC: Guilty food pleasures?
J: Chocolate. Wine. Cheese. Amen. 🙏🏼
AC: Favorite sports?
J: To watch: College football … and the National Hockey League (NHL) #LGRW
To play: Love & Basketball. I mean, basketball.
AC: One thing our readers may not know about you?
J: I’m endlessly curious about almost everything and wildly addicted to lip gloss, coffee, hammocks, HBR articles, red raspberries, podcasts, Peter Lik Photography®, and Bic 1.4 point pens. I also tend to sing… out loud … in my car … a lot. 💁🏽♀️🙈 💄💋
AC: So we’re going to pretend you didn’t forget to mention your multiple degrees (Doctorate, and Masters-in-progress), or your impressive apt for hunting down the best online shopping deals… 🤓
And that’s a wrap! We’re so glad you were born, Jill!
Happy Thursday everyone!
Chasing Runways 