If you need some inspiration today, here she is. This week’s travelers spotlight is Yvonne J. We met through a mutual Travel Group online. Her story is extremely inspiring, and I really enjoy her writing style.
What’s your name and tell us a little bit about you.
Yvonne Jasinski. I was born in Poland, but have lived in the USA for 33 years now. I am retired and I live with stage 4 breast cancer. Maintaining the quality of life is my goal. I opted for an alternative treatment that boosts my immune system and lets me feel relatively well. If you want a thorough explanation about my living and traveling with cancer check out this post. I write a lot about my travels here.
How many countries have you traveled to?
“I have been to 28 Countries.”
What’s your favorite mode of travel? (Plane train cruise car walking etc.)
“Car, for the greatest flexibility. I love road trips. I also like hiking and walking. “
What’s your dream travel destination?
“I want to visit Patagonia”
How has traveling helped you manage a healthy mentality?
“It is the best way to escape my daily struggles. When I am visiting a new place, everything I left behind seems unreal, and that lets me enjoy “here and now.” My mind takes a long break when I am traveling. ”
What are some ways you use travel as a coping mechanism?
“I find nature to be the best healer. The beauty around me and fresh air wash off my worries.”
How do you choose who you travel with? Does it impact your trip?
“I have no problem traveling alone, but I feel safer traveling with other people. Personally, I like to travel in small groups and then I am open to different personalities. I do not think I would like cruises or tours. Crowds in any form do not appeal to me. When it comes to traveling with just one other person, I am picky. Some people argue too much, some are too touchy. I try to avoid stress of dealing with these personalities. Fortunately, I have a lot of people around me who meet my criteria.”
Do you have a favorite destination?
“Yes. Provence in France. I love lavender fields!”
When you travel, do you make more friends than when you are at home?
“I am not really looking to make friends when traveling. I have a lot of friends at home. When traveling, I like to talk to local people, but I am never long enough in one place to create lasting connections, other than on social media.”
How has anxiety or depression affected your travels negatively?
“It doesn’t. Traveling is better than Xanax. I used to be afraid of flying but it went away after a few flights.”
How has anxiety or depression affected your travels positively?
“I always think about the worst possible scenarios. For example, I take two debit cards and five credit cards with me, just in case one does not work. Also, my itinerary is always well planned and relaxed to avoid unnecessary stress. ”
Do you feel that traveling is a coping mechanism for a lot of people? Does your family or friends use traveling as an escape from reality the same way you do? Or do you feel that they travel for other reasons?
“People travel for different reasons. Coping is just one of them and probably not the leading one. I think the majority of my friends just want to have fun and recharge once in a while. I put more thoughts on the subject here.“
What’s one thing you can not travel without.
“My phone. I take my camera with me on every trip, but I use my phone most of the time. Google Pixel XL takes great photos. All my phone pictures are stored in my Google cloud automatically, so I do not need to worry about backing it up. My phone also serves as GPS, holds my itinerary in Tripcase, and of course, lets me stay in touch with family and friends.”
What’s your number one travel tip for our fellow travelers out there?
“Slow down. You are not going to see everything anyway. Some itineraries I see look more like a race than a vacation. Why would you plan to see Paris, London, Rome, and Amsterdam in one week? Impossible to enjoy in my opinion.”
Yvonne is such a beautiful soul. If you want to get in contact with her for advice here’s how!
My favorite blog post of hers.
If you want to share this post you can do it by pressing the pink buttons
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Traveler Spotlight: Yvonne J
If you need some inspiration today, here she is. This week’s travelers spotlight is Yvonne…
I love her story. She is super inspirational. Thank you for sharing her story.
Thanks for taking the time to read it! She is really amazing person.
Her story is so inspirational. I love that she is not letting cancer slow her down!
Right? She really was such a light to learn more about.
Traveling is better than Xanax – agreed! Haha.
This woman is a legend! Take care Yvonne.
Wow what an inspiration! Now this is living life to the fullest!!
She is an amazing human, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! I love this story. She is truly an inspiration. Thank you for sharing!
Right? I think one of the best parts of traveling is meeting other travelers, her story was too good not to share.
What an inspiring read, thanks for sharing her amazing story.
I love meeting new travelers, it’s one of my favorite parts of learning the culture in a new place. She really shines through and inspires those in her situation.
She’s very brave! I enjoyed reading her story, very inspiring. I identified with many of the things she said.
Wow! Such an amazing story!
This is beautiful! I really hope your blog has tons and tons of readers because you deserve it.
My mother wouldn’t do half of what you did!
I wish you to be able to go to Patagonia sooner than later! Xx