Packs Light

???? ADCOLOR Conference and Awards’ 2024 Influencer of the Year ?? “The ADCOLOR Influencer champions community and creates change through their content on social media platforms. By promoting inclusivity and accessibility in their personal platform, they use innovative means of digital influence that leads to real-life change “ Funneling this week and this award into my work in exponential ways. I am beyond honored and grateful.

BREAKING NEWS: I'm in my "moved to New York City solo in her 20's" era ?? (good thing everything I own was already packed, right?) The past 3 years of country-hopping full-time as a solo digital nomad have been MAGICAL. Truly the best years of my life!!! But I need some downtime. And where better to be based in the most expensive, busy, city that never sleeps? Watch my moving day YouTube video linked in the comments for more details on why I'm pausing my full-time travels and why I chose NYC. But for now... hello, New York ????? (p.s. welcoming *any* NYC mentors, exploring buddies, event plugs, favorite run clubs, and activity recs. And don't worry—the travels will continue) (p.p.s. I truly believe in the powers of manifestation and community support so please: wish me luck! ????)

10,000 followers posting about travel on the briefcase app ?? Some said it wasn't possible. When I joined LinkedIn it was a stuffy place that reeked of conservative work culture—old man golf buddies came here to catch up and recent grads only came to beg for unpaid internships at Fortune 500 companies. But today, marketing memes and Gen Z's chaos culture have infiltrated. Black LinkedIn consistently shares hilarious yet poignant perspectives on professionalism and equity. Women on the app are no longer "Top Female Thought Leaders", we're simply *the* thought leaders. Travel industry is way more accessible, and diversity in thought in the industry too! My posts about remote work, airlines, digital nomadding, and study abroad garner so much attention recently. As a member of all of the above collectives: I love the aligned people, opportunities, and information this app has connected me to. From being invited to join in 2020 as a LinkedIn Top 100, to my opinions and travel takes garnering millions of views year over year... Phew. If you're reading this you're probably one of my 10,000 (or could be 10,001 ??) so THANK YOU ????

Packs Light + Intrepid Travel = Collab of the Year! ???? It just adds up. I am so incredibly honoured to see Intrepid nab the 2024 Collaboration of the Year award at Wanderful's annual Bessie Awards last week, right alongside our fantastic partner and all-around rockstar, Gabby Beckford. ?? This award, voted on by the Wanderful community, recognizes and celebrates successful (and meaningful) partnerships between brands and creators, and highlights the various ways they come together to accomplish shared goals and make a real difference. Over the past year, Gabby has been an integral part of our creator community. From being a mentor on our first NOMADNESS Travel Tribe x Intrepid BIPOC Mentorship Trip in Costa Rica and joining us on our unforgettable 9-day Hola Cuba tour as a solo traveller, to hosting three lucky Packs Light members on a fully-funded week-long adventure in Brazil. Working with Gabby and her team (hey, Taylor Inglut! ????) has been one of my professional highlights, and I can't stop gushing about how incredible this honour is. Thank you, Gabby, for being such a lovely (and fun) person to work, ideate and brainstorm with and of course, thank you to the dream team at Intrepid for supporting and amplifying the work of BIPOC content creators with a special shout-out to Mikey Sadowski and Leigh Barnes. Watch this space for more exciting Intrepid creator updates, starting with our third BIPOC Mentorship Trip, which will depart next week! ??? #WeAreIntrepid #PacksLight #Wanderful

Last week I traveled to Harvard University to speak about personal branding as a multi 6-figure, self-made influencer ???????? (never ever imagined I would string those words together—!) 3 lessons I shared in my talk: ? The pain of failure < the pain of regret. In a year you'll be glad you started today. So start today! ? We don't CREATE a personal brand, we EMBODY it with the content we consume, the energy we share, the companies we patronize, the food we eat i.e. the way we LIVE. ? We beat imposter syndrome when we hone in on the small wins with gratitude instead of fixating on losses. We don't need every "yes"—just the aligned ones. Be just as grateful for the "no"s. 3 lessons I (re)learned from the experience: ? My dad was right (fml ??): we are the sum of the community we keep. Make sure your community inspires, challenges, and uplifts you. ? Everything is made up. Status, society, etc. so mindset trumps skillset, all day every day. ? Multiply every supporter you have by x4! Negative people are loud, but silent supporters will always have the numbers. On that note: we all need to make the conscious effort to give people their flowers as often as possible. My dad immigrated to the U.S. at 12 and joined the military at 17. My mom didn't get a four-year degree. I had never even heard of "ivy league" schools until I was already in undergrad. I don't even use my degree now. But this Black girl had valuable lessons to share at HARVARD UNIVERSITY. Whew. Thank you so much Ezza Naveed for the invitation and for the Women's Education Movement at Harvard Graduate School of Education for having me!!!