I’m Marijs and this is my blog Rooftop Antics. My blog is about showing you how much fun traveling out-of-the-box is and sharing all my best travel hacks. I left the fashion industry with a 1-way ticket to India and haven't looked back since.
A few months ago, a friend asked me whether I “was still blogging”. Almost offended and shocked, I reacted defensively and said that of course I was! I’ve been blogging for more than 8 years and it has become a part of my identity. The idea that somebody would think I stopped blogging seemed ridiculous to me!
I’m writing this blogpost from the airplane that will bring me to Bangkok. The capital of Thailand, the first place I ever saw in Asia (or outside Europe for that matter) and the start of my South-East Asian trip back in January. I’m writing this post on the third time I take this journey and I am writing this because I’m flying solo (again). The question I get asked the most about traveling by yourself is, “Doesn’t it get lonely?”. To answer this question I would have to say yes and no…
It happens to the best of us and almost to all of us. This is a topic everyone has an opinion on and advice to give. Today I’m talking about heartbreak. No matter the reason you and your partner broke up, it’s always hard. The heavy feeling on your chest, the tears or the ‘not knowing what to do with yourself’. We’ve been through this before and it might not be the last time. The bad news? It’s not fun, but you’re going to have to go through this. The good news? You are going to get through this and you’ll come out on the other side as a stronger person.
I finally made it to Australia, it has been a dream over 10 years in the making and I can honestly say I still can’t really believe it. After graduating some years ago, I was looking into flying across the globe but I got a job at a well-known fashion house and temporarily let go of the dream. However while I was working, I always felt Australia was calling out to me. A few months ago, the stars aligned and I saw my chance to leave Belgium. With a little detour through Asia (if you can call six months a detour), I have fallen in love with travel and finally reached the main attraction, the Land of Oz!
I know, I have been teasing you all a bit with the news I have been wanting to share. I gave away quite a few clues on my birthday and I’m so excited to tell all. When I turned 26, I wrote an article about what I wanted to achieve before I turned 30. It was scary to write but I felt like it resonated with a lot of you guys. I wanted clear goals, steps and a direction to follow in the hopes that all will go according to plan. A year later, I still want those steps and goals but it turns out that life just isn’t that simple and that, sometimes, you have to discover it along the way. But then again, if life would be predictable, what would be the fun in it anyway?
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Refinery 29 is a great source of inspiration for the personal development and well everything else that’s lifestyle related. I personally love to check out the career orientated articles. Especially as the urge to develop a project of my own grows stronger and the need to travel is very present. The website keep me keen with interviews of strong independent women and with great angles. I’ve been tweeting articles on a regular basis and I wanted to share the 5 most remarkable lessons I’ve learned from Refinery 29 (and one by Beyoncé -obviously-).
