When a math teacher becomes a writer. And a travel agent.

I’m not a writer. My sister is a writer, and when I do attempt to “write” things, she edits them. I’m a math teacher. We do math and things with numbers. And yet here I am, writing.

To be honest, math teachers do write. We all write because we have to. In fact, while teaching math, I always told my students that the most important thing they would learn in high school was not math, but writing, because no matter what they majored in in college they’d have to write MANY papers. And then after college, any job would involve at least some writing (even teaching math).

So anyway, I’m writing, because I’m not a math teacher anymore. I’m starting a new adventure in my life and I think blogging about it might make it a little more fun, because even though I’m bad at it, I actually always enjoyed writing. And it may even make me a little more successful in this new adventure. And here’s the thing. I’ve read a few blogs. Some that were just passion projects for people (like me) trying to have some fun, and some that actually became hugely successful and turned into major careers. One thing I’ve noticed is that when blogging, you don’t actually have to be a good writer. You just have to have an interesting story to tell with pretty pictures (see below).

Maybe your story is food, maybe your story is clothing, maybe your story is just a highlight of your life. In the end, if the story is good the grammar and the syntax don’t matter. So I’m hoping I can tell a good story. And that’s why my sister did not edit this post – this, like all of my blog posts will be, is all mine.

My story is about travel. I recently became a travel agent with ET Family Travel, specializing in Disney, Universal, and other popular destinations (cruises, all inclusive resorts, popular hotel brands like Marriott, and more!). After many trainings over the past few months, I’ve learned the ins and outs of booking these locations and what they have to offer, and I’ve learned so much about the business along the way.

I’ve learned that being a fee free travel agent (which I am, by the way – I don’t charge and work only for commission) often means that people use you for your research and then book a trip on their own. Or it means that they’re speaking to multiple travel agents at the same time and if someone else gets to their email a few minutes before you do, they get the sale. I’ve learned that I have to start being more comfortable talking on the phone (insert face slap emoji here). I’ve learned that once you plan someone a perfect trip, they don’t then invite you on said trip as a thank you, no matter how badly you wish it were your own trip you’d just planned. This has all been time consuming and frustrating, but mostly fun and educational, which is why I’m still here.

But on top of that, I am passionate about my own travel, and planning my travel. I have been all over the world and hope to continue to see all of the places I haven’t yet been. I’m going to write about past travels, future travel plans, traveling with babies, and of course my experiences as a travel agent and how I can help you plan your perfect vacation. Hopefully it’ll be interesting enough that you won’t care about my not so great writing abilities. Maybe you’ll even be interested enough to book a trip with me! Check back soon for a post about how and why I got into this business, and what I hope to get out of it.