If you’ve stumbled onto this corner of the internet, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. My name is Jen, and I’m a Geography teacher in Texas with a serious case of wanderlust. When I’m not teaching social studies or guiding my students through world cultures, I’m probably planning my next adventure or selling thrifted finds to fund it.
Munich Germany
But my story didn’t start with stamps in a passport or a well-planned itinerary. It started when I was 28, sitting in an apartment I hate, completely exhausted by a life that didn’t feel like mine. I was in a miserable job as an insurance adjuster, a miserable relationship, and so broke that I actually overdrew my bank account just to buy a book: The Lost Girls.
That book changed everything. It wasn’t just about travel; it was about freedom. And for the first time, I realized something that would shape the rest of my life, those women have no clue I exist but they changed my life drastically all because they shared their journey.
If I wanted to change my life, I had to change my life.
The Cliffs of Moher were such a dream to see!
So, I did. I started small like really small, in fact I completed the penny challenge that first year. I focused on paying off my debt and saving every dollar I could. It took three years to save enough for my first trip (and pay off some credit cards), but eventually, I made it happen. I booked a volunteer trip with IVHQ to Guatemala, where I worked on a coffee farm and saw the world with new eyes. That trip was the start of everything. In fact, I will have to write an entire post on this because that one week would change the ENTIRE course of my life.
Since then, I’ve traveled to 25 countries(and counting!) and made it my mission to see them all even if it takes the REST OF MY LIFE. I have remarried to the love of my life that supports ALL of my dreams. I may be a part time traveler and I use to think that was lame, especially in the age of influencers who are in the Maldives one week and Tanzania the next, but I have learned I get to live my life my way and that is okay. Life and be hard and money is a thing that is needed to see the world, I will get there just slower than others. I am also not young, I work full time. I see what I can see when I can see it! I’m still a teacher first, and proud to be one, but I believe the world is the greatest classroom there is.
I started Hall Pass to Everywhere to share what it’s really like to chase big travel dreams while living an ordinary life. Here, you’ll find:
Real tips for saving and planning travel on a teacher’s salary (or any salary really)
Stories from around the globe the beautiful, the awkward, and the unforgettable. I have amazing experiences and I do make mistakes. Like not taking the time to learn to use chopsticks before I went to China 🙂 The struggle was real, but I learned and now I am pretty good if I do say so myself.
Inspiration for anyone who’s ever thought, “I wish I could do that,” because you can. I am quite ordinary. I just save for extraordinary moments.
So, who am I and what am I doing here? I’m just a teacher who once overdrew her bank account to buy a dream and never stopped chasing it.
Welcome to Hall Pass to Everywhere my journey to everywhere, starting right here.
