Trading the
day-to-day grind

When I left the States in March 2024, it wasn’t to stumble into my very own Eat, Pray, Love fantasy. By the time I purchased that one-way ticket, I had survived more than two decades of single motherhood, operating in survival mode, and ignoring my own red flags, burnout, and overall well-being. I wanted to escape everything except my son and put as much physical distance between myself and the trauma, noise, and chaos that had defined my life up to that point. What started as a not-so-mini meltdown in the suburbs of Far North Dallas quickly evolved into an international experiment in figuring out who I am, how I define success, and what I want to be when I grow up–midlife crisis be damned. 

A few months in, I started documenting my trips, thoughts, feelings, step-ups, and setbacks under the moniker Gorjess Wanderlust. What was originally meant to serve as an experiment in accountability—tackling debt, getting healthier, and figuring out who I am outside of motherhood—has since morphed into a real-time exploration of what happens when you stop following the script and start writing your own.

And now, 2+ years in, this journey is no longer about escaping. Travel remains my catalyst and backdrop, but the focus is now on reinvention and highlighting the pivots, recalibration and uncomfortable truths we must face to design a life built for thriving, not merely surviving. Moving forward, expect this space to highlight global misadventures, reinvention, uncomfortable growth, and honest conversations, with the ever-gnawing reminder that it’s never too late to blow it all up and start over. Oh, and maybe an existential crisis or three along the way. Welcome to Midlife Sidequests.