Anita M. George: Journalist, Writer
A Collection of Articles, Adventures and Commentary
Things you realize as you get older and/or dive too deep into the comments sections of the Internet:
Day 11’s task is much harder than it looks. Especially when you’re working and out of school and most of your friends are either still in school or working full-time.
And, for me Day 11 fell on a weekday. I know.
I love lists.
Checklists. To-do lists. Grocery lists.
There’s something oddly satisfying about crossing items off of them. Especially if it’s a particularly annoying or difficult task.
But when I’m putting together social events, fun activities or recipes, my favorite part is making the list of stuff I need to have prepared.
I know. I’m like that kid who had way more fun with the box the super-expensive toy came in than the actual toy. Whatever. I’m okay with that. Really, it’s like I recieved two presents. Double the awesome. So there.
I think it’s the anticipation. It’s like this giddy feeling that bubbles up when the creative juices are flowing and I’m super excited for new experiences.
Ok, I know my love for lists is borderline wrong and about five kinds of awkward.
So…
I’m Anita George and I’m a planner. And I’m not sorry.
Because lists are awesome. Especially when you publish them for the world to see. Why?
1.) Things are more likely to get done if you tell everyone on Facebook you’re going to accomplish them. People WILL ask follow up questions. And depending on the goal you mentioned, they might even get inspired enough to want join you in your endeavor. This is super useful for personal goals you’ve had trouble starting. When I wanted to stop consuming caffeine for a few weeks, I announced it on Facebook. And now my friends make sure I remember to abstain.
2.) Making your list public will help you develop your goals and add to them. I created a bucket list of hobbies a while ago. It’s basically a collection of ideas for new activities to try from my friends and things I’ve personally always wanted to do. One day, I posted a note explaining my dire need of new hobbies and my friends commented on it with their suggestions. And the list keeps growing because whenever I meet someone new and amazing I just tag them in the note and they talk about their favorite hobbies or personal goals.
So in honor of my love for lists, I’m posting a new one right here. It’s my Travel Bucket List.
Now, if you were to look at my life (or my passport), at first glance you’d think this woman does not like to travel. Maybe planes freak her out or maybe she just has no interest in other places outside of her country.
None of that is true. Ok, so maybe the last time I’ve been out of the country was when I was ten for a family trip to India. And it’s possible that the last time I’ve left the state was during my junior year of college for a journalism conference.
But I do love flying. Loved it when I was kid, and I want to do it again. I was probably the only kid who flew coach who had a fabulous time on the plane without needing to be bribed with those kiddie pilot wings and a visit to the cockpit.
(Do they even still do that anymore? I don’t even know. It’s been that long. And so most of my notions about planes are colored by my experiences as a 10-year-old and sitcoms.)
I also have a desire to see the world. I’ve got a pretty long list of places I want to visit as you’ll see soon.
I just haven’t been able to make it a financial priority. Growing up in my family, it just wasn’t always financially feasible. So as a kid, I always thought I’d travel while in college, preferably on some study abroad program. But reality set in and most of my money went towards living and educational expenses.
But now I’m at a point in my life where I’m able to plan out a travel budget and really do things right.
I want to make traveling a priority in my life. I don’t want it be something I just say I’ll do and never follow up on.
Also, I’d love to hear your travel stories and tips on some of the places I want to go. Or suggestions on new places for me to visit. You can be as specific as you want or as broad as you want: It’s totally up to you.
So without further delay, here’s my Travel Bucket List:
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to let me know what you thought of this post. I hope you have a lovely day!
One look at the laundry list of social media platforms I’m involved with and someone could conclude following:
Anita intends to saturate the internet with her presence.
This is true. Journalism school (and my PR friends) have taught me well. I am all for some good ol’ fashioned branding. I am all about networking, reaching my target audiences and letting people know that I’m here and I’ve got important things to say–or tweet– and the skills to tell my stories well.
The list is getting long: Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, WordPress, LinkedIn, Google+ and now… Tumblr.
But this particular social media platform holds a different meaning for me. In stark contrast to all of the other SM sites, I use Tumblr purely for the LOLs, pardon the netspeak. Tumblr makes me happy. It’s like this pretty online scrapbook that contains everything I like, love, laugh at, admire and aspire to be that I can share with my friends.
Plus, I think it combines the best of all the aforementioned SM sites (except LinkedIn). Tumblr mixes the brevity of Twitter, the friendships of FB and Google+, the curiosity of StumbleUpon and the pleasing aesthetics of WordPress.
And it’s all mine. For me, Tumblr isn’t about my career. It’s about my happiness and appreciation for the small and giant, awe-inspiring things in life on display for myself and my friends. It’s not about branding or my portfolio.
(Which is why I have not included a link to my Tumblr page in this post. If you’re a good friend of mine, however and want to follow me on Tumblr, let me know and I’ll send you a link.)
Lately, I’ve been wanting to expand my horizons beyond what I do for a living. I love what I do. I love journalism, but I don’t want my career to define me. I’ve recently realized I’m more than my career, I have lots of facets.
And I can’t wait to discover every fabulous one.
Anita M. George: Journalist, Writer 