When I was 12, I wanted to be a maths teacher. I adored maths for the rest of my school career, until I encountered stats at 17. Suddenly, maths was torture.
At 18, I was passionate about American Literature. I loved Hemingway. I still love Hemingway. But during my first year at University, I realised that I have always been a people person; I wanted to help people face to face.
At 20, I became passionate about Psychology. I quit my English Literature degree course and enrolled in a Psychology BSc. Over the next three years, I built on a passion I had for helping people bring out the best in themselves. By graduation, with a 2:1 and after an epic internship that to this day I am grateful for, I was well on my way to beginning a career in business psychology.
At 23 I stepped into my first hostel as a solo traveller. You guys know how the rest of that story goes.
At 27 I landed back in my hometown. My return was a good year in the making. Once again, my passion was dwindling. Once again, I was lost.
In the nine months since I left my last hostel job behind in Rome so much has shifted.
At first, I didn’t know how to handle this shift. I told myself that it was okay not to be on my laptop every day. That when I felt like it, I would write again. I abandoned my social media accounts entirely for four months. I’ve since dipped back into Instagram, but my presence on there now lacks the fervour of someone desperate to spread the word of how awesome hostels are.
For four and a half years of my life, I lived and breathed hostels because of the passion I had for the way they connect people. I love the way hostels bring people together, from all different places on our beautiful Earth. I always will. I was reminded of this, and of my gratitude, for all the people I’ve met over the last years, on my return to Morocco last month.
But to quote Zac Brown: “this road’s been putting miles on my heart.“
In the last nine months since moving back to England, I’ve moved into my own flat. I’ve lived alone before, but this time around I can decorate, paint, and put art on the walls.
For anyone interested, my walls are now covered in canvases painted by this incredible local artist. I’ve reconnected with my friends, some very old and some very new, but all of whom feel more like extended family now than people I used to message once a month to catch up with.
I’ve reconnected with my family. I got to see how much my nephew has changed now he’s seven. I got to take my grandmother for Sunday lunch almost every week to her favourite pub over the summer. Most importantly, I got to be in the same room with her when she took her final breath.
I’ve rediscovered my suppressed obsession and craving for live music. I now have time to cook more than once a week, instead of subsisting off airport coffee shops.
Most of all, I can honestly say I am the happiest I have been in a long time.
As my passion for being ‘The Hostel Girl’ dwindled over the last year, my anxiety grew. I was anxious about letting down those of you that have been consistent readers of this blog for years, and who I’ve inspired to stay in hostels for the first time. I still love getting those emails. I was anxious for how much my email inbox grew while my time to reply simultaneously dwindled. I was anxious for letting down the hostels I loved the most and always wanted to support, as well as for all the hostels I was invited to but couldn’t visit
Most of all, I was anxious for letting down the mentors and friends who have continuously and passionately supported my work in the hostel industry.
It was this anxiety that saw me effectively disappearing from the hostel and blogging scene this summer. What could I possibly say to all those people who still supported me? What could I possibly say to all those people who admired my work?
What could I possibly say that would be truthful other than “My heart just isn’t in it anymore, I’m sorry.”
So now I’m saying it. To all of you all at once.
I have no intention of shutting down this blog. Like it or lump it, there are some people out there who know me only as The Hostel Girl, and when those people email me, I want the reply to come from me. Even if that reply comes after a longer delay than it used to.
I will also continue to travel and stay in hostels. Trust me, you can take the girl out of hostels but you can’t take hostels out of the girl. Solo travel is my jam, along with meeting incredible, inspiring travellers. So I wouldn’t swap solo hostel travel for the world. I just might not be writing about it that much. If you want to follow along, you can still find me on Instagram.
The main change is that I will no longer be updating this blog every few days.
My Instagram now displays stories of the live music events I love attending, my friends, and Southsea, a creative, inspiring town just a 20-minute drive from where I grew up. I’ve been going to gigs in Southsea since the age of 14. I’m now twice that age and it seems I’ve gone full circle.
Thank you to everyone who has supported my work through this blog.
Those of you who have read, shared, commented, been inspired, hired me, mentored me, and so much more. My life as The Hostel Girl has been sweeter than I ever could have imagined when I took that first solo step into a hostel in Portugal. But I can’t be The Hostel Girl forever. Life can go by so quickly, but if we live for passions then we can live so many lives in one lifetime. I’m sorry for leaving this blog behind, but I’m looking forward to my next life.
All my love and gratitude,
The Hostel Girl Katie
Follow your curiosity down those rabbit holes. Explore your intersections. Embracing our inner wiring leads to a happier, more authentic life. – Emilie Wapnick