I spent a lot of time researching my 20s
After a full week of reflecting and researching what life in my 20s was like, I began to write this post. I have been online for over 8 years, so there is a lot of information I have shared about myself on the internet.
In this post, I get a little vulnerable. I share my life in detail from 2012-2020. Even though I have had an online presence for almost a decade, there are things I have never shared before. So hurry up and read this post before I chicken out and take it down!
After college my life began
In 2012, I was 22 so life in my 20s was in full swing! The first blog I started was www.Naturally-Jazzy.blogspot.com. I wrote about natural hair and beauty topics. I also used it as an outlet for stress. Later that year, I graduated from college! I took my hairstyling skills and combined them with my love for science to make content for the internet.
YouTube became my hobby
In 2013, I created my first YouTube video. My hard work from school was finally paying off; I landed what was my dream job at the time. Making content for the internet while I had a full-time job was fun but challenging at times. I added a travel section to my blog to document the travel opportunities I started to receive from work. Later that year, I moved my blog to www.jazzynation.wordpress.com. The new domain felt so official!
Everything was great until…
The year 2014 started off great! Work was amazing and my relationships were flourishing! I even adopted a dog who became my favorite companion. My YouTube channel and my blog were growing as well. However, during this time, I started to struggle with self-doubt. With growth came criticism and I let it affect my goals and what I was trying to accomplish.
Halfway through the year, I traveled to Washington D.C. for a trip that would define my career at the time and also be the catalyst for my life as a traveler. Towards the end of the year, my long-time boyfriend and I broke up. This breakup was devastating because we had been dating for a large part of my young adult life. To cope, I poured all my efforts into my work, content creation, family, and my dog.
The year my life shifted
In 2015, I stayed consistent making YouTube videos and blog posts about natural hair and beauty. I added lifestyle content to the mix as well. I got back together with my long-time boyfriend. Later that year, we were engaged to be married.
My mom and I planned my wedding in what felt like two months. Because being married meant I was going to move away from Colorado, I had to quit my job in preparation for my new life. At the time, my emotions about this decision were all over the place.
I still focused on making content for the internet during this time. I went “viral” for a couple of my YouTube videos about natural hair.
The biggest transitions of my life
In 2016, I married Gozie and moved to Washington D.C. During this time I studied French in preparation for our move to Morocco. After about four months of training, I took my first international trip to my new home. I got a job teaching English. My YouTube content shifted to include videos about my new lifestyle as an expat.
Later that year, I took a break from blogging to build www.thejazzynation.com. Living in Morocco opened my world to so many travel opportunities. I went on a dream/bucket list trip to Paris, France, and had a lovely time. I became interested in documenting my travels so I picked up the habit of vlogging every trip I went on. Doing this helped me log all of my travels and document my experiences to share with my family back in the U.S. Unfortunately, I stopped blogging after I built my new website.
Morocco was a vibe
In 2017, I received a lot of love from the content I produced about life in Morocco. So, I started making more videos, meeting other expats, and having fun sharing my story online. Sadly, this love came at a cost because I stopped creating natural hair and beauty content.
I slowly started to rebrand The Jazzy Nation but I still wasn’t blogging. I suffered from homesickness and depression. The idea of the quarter-life crisis in your 20s is real. Although living abroad was a great experience for me, it was also hard. All of the transitions I had gone through affected me in ways I never expressed. This realization allowed me to seek help and talk about how I was feeling.
My parents visited me in Morocco and we went to Madrid, Spain for a quick trip. I dealt with racism in Spain. I was disappointed by the racism I experienced because it gave me a negative outlook on travel for the first time in my life.
Later that year, I went to Lisbon, Portugal with Gozie. That trip allowed me to envision living life abroad for an extended period of time despite my experiences in Spain.
Travel became a way of life
In 2018, I enjoyed sharing my life and crazy stories about living abroad online. Gozie and I also went on many adventures together. Our favorite trips of the year were to Grenoble, France, and Guelmim, and Tangier, Morocco.
Living in India
I began blogging again but not consistently in 2019. I realized that I had previously stopped blogging because I had major fears of writing and sharing my work with other people.
My first year in India was met with challenges but overall I enjoyed my time. I created content about my trips to Bangalore, India, and Bangkok, Thailand. I went on my first solo international trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then went to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After my trip to Europe, Gozie and I went to Singapore. As I mentioned, I have vlogged every trip I have taken since 2017 but I did not get a chance to share my Singapore footage because it was deleted from my hard drive.
The year the world changed
In 2020, I took a much needed R&R back in the U.S. with my family. For my mom’s birthday, we went to New Orleans and ate some amazing food! In March, I celebrated my birthday in the Maldives with Gozie. Shortly after that trip, COVID-19 hit and I have been in lockdown/quarantine mode for the last six months (like the rest of the world).
Wow, that was a lot! The last eight years have been jammed packed and full of transition. When I think about what life in my 20s was like, the first word that comes to mind is gratitude. As I begin to enter new phases of my life (more transition to come, stay tuned), I also want to add faith and abundance to my word list.
I’ve been transparent on my social platforms before but not like this! This was scary to share but I am glad I did it. I recommend you choose a series of key points in your life and reflect on them to see what story you can share with the world, or your journal if you prefer to keep your notes to yourself.
Leave a comment sharing one thing you are proud of accomplishing in your life so far! I cannot wait to read your responses and celebrate with you.
-Jasmine
