The Story Behind Her Adventurous Life
The catalyst for the newsletter that celebrates courageous women.
Welcome!! We have a lot of new adventurers here, so I want to take a moment to introduce myself and share why I started writing this newsletter. I’m so glad you’re here and part of this community!
Navigating burnout
Several years into my career, I found myself facing the hollow emptiness of burnout. I was a successful (by every external evaluation) emergency veterinarian. I had the career, the house, the salary. Yet, on the inside, I was struggling. I felt like something was missing. I had done all the things society told me I should do to reach happiness. But instead I was exhausted, fighting anxiety, and confused to find myself feeling this way.
One night, I stumbled across a blog called The Fioneers. The blog focuses on using financial literacy to build a well-lived life right now. As I looked through the site, I found that Jess, one of the founders of The Fioneers, was running a program called Design a Life You Love (DALYL). It intrigued me. We set up a conference call to get to know each other and see if it was the right fit.
In that call, Jess asked me, “What are you looking to gain out of this program?” I couldn’t fully answer the question. I wasn’t looking to become an entrepreneur, to take a sabbatical and travel the world (though that sounded great) or to become a digital nomad. I was looking for something, but I wasn’t sure what. I just didn’t want to feel the way I felt anymore. Jess said she could help. And so the journey began.
Wayfinding
Over the last several years, with the support of Jess’ amazing coaching program, I have been creating a life I actually love. My path has been meandering, and I have stumbled upon unexpected insights along the way. I visualize the journey as akin to a beautiful concept called wayfinding.
Wayfinding is an ancient navigational technique. The Polynesians used wayfinding to chart their way from island to island in the open ocean. Instead of modern GPS systems for directional guidance, they used the stars, ocean currents, bird flight patterns, wind directions, and much more to guide their way. Wayfinding consists of understanding your current location relative to the landscape as best as possible, charting a course, re-assessing the line of travel and course-correcting as needed, on and on, until a destination is reached. Of course, for many early explorers, the destination was just the beginning point of the next adventure. And so it has been for me.
Creating Joy
My first task was to take steps to make my job work for me, not the other way around. I negotiated a set schedule working three days each week and a month-long sabbatical that allowed me to decompress and take a bucket-list trip to Patagonia.
These changes gave me the space to go on a journey of self-discovery. I embarked on a Year of Novelty (my version of the Year of Yes) which included trying out one new activity every month, such as zip-lining, acupuncture, scuba diving, whitewater kayaking, and rock climbing. Through this exploration, I found peace and joy and learned how to have fun again.
In the pursuit of designing a life I love and aligning my actions with my dreams, I began to look for other women leaning into their dreams and tossing aside the shackles of societal expectations. What I found was a community of amazing women doing incredible things. And to my delight, I found they were ordinary people just like me. I surrounded myself with these strong women, and they motivated me to keep going down my new path.
The Power of Storytelling
The more tales of adventurous women I heard, the stronger my desire to share these stories of courage and confidence. Eventually, Her Adventurous Life was born.
On my own journey, I have realized it can be scary to admit to my inner desires and even harder to act on them. For me, the biggest catalyst for change has been surrounding myself with a like-minded and supportive community. These communities are critical because when we see other people who are like us working through their own fears and pursuing their dreams, it gives us the courage to take the first step on our own journey.
My Mission with Her Adventurous Life
Through interview-style storytelling, I aim to create a community to encourage, support, and inspire each other on our own adventures, particularly in areas near to my heart: the outdoors, the sciences, and business.
I know we are surrounded by a community of brave and courageous womxn who are daily defying odds to obtain great personal and professional success. These trailblazing womxn have responsibilities, debts, doubts, and everyday challenges just like the rest of us. And yet, they are pursuing their dreams and goals with determination, grit and joy. This newsletter is my way of sharing their voices.
I believe that when we elevate and celebrate each other, we initiate change in ourselves and the world around us.
What to expect from me
Her Adventurous Life is a weekly written interview series sharing the inspiring tales of womxn in the outdoors, the sciences, business, and beyond. The primary focus is the interviews of courageous adventurers. Together, we learn about the journeys of these adventurers, how they overcome internal and external obstacles, who they look up to, where they are going next, and more.
Additionally, I will be launching two new types of stories on an intermittent basis: Everyday Adventures and Historical Adventurers. The first will be short recountings of adventures in my own daily life. I love to step into the discomfort zone, and I have found we don’t have to wait for those big once-in-a-lifetime trips to engage in the unknown and have a wonderful adventure. So every now and then, I will share with you one of my own stories, with a focus on celebrating the adventures in our everyday lives.
The second type of new story will be a look at a historical woman adventurer, someone who paved the path to where we are now. There are innumerable fierce and brave women out there. I want to save space to recognize several who have impacted me and the world around them.
A Note on Adventure and Adventurers
To me, an adventure is embracing a new experience, taking on some risk, and hopefully, having a whole lot of fun along the way. It is an undertaking that pushes us squarely into our discomfort zones. An adventure is more about the mindset of stepping into uncertainty, than any specific activity itself.
An adventurer, therefore, is anyone who embraces this mindset of utilizing the unknown for growth and learning. In this series, we engage with adventurers across fields and from different corners of the earth.
Moreover, these adventurers are normal women living out their big dreams. The woman you read about in each story could be your neighbor, your co-worker, your sister, the gal behind you in line at the coffee shop. She, too, struggles with fears and doubts, and yet she is accomplishing her goals and living out her dreams. She is a woman who knows her inherent greatness and acts on it.
She is you.
Your turn
This publication depends on readers like you to share your own story! If you have an adventure you would like to share with the community, please reach out to me. If one of these stories inspires you, share it with the adventurers in your life and help to grow this community.
Your support keeps me writing. Thank you for being here!
And, most importantly, happy adventuring!!
Casey
Hello! The Fioneers recommended I reach out. It seems like we may have a lot in common! I am Amber a fellow WSU grad and I have an extremely non-traditional career path in veterinary medicine. I am currently an financial coach and starting to go down the wildlife path. I have a substack as well but can pass you my email too! Looking forward to connecting with you!
Love you, Casey! So proud of you! ❤️