Travel and Personal Growth: Kelly Johnson Of Snap Travel Magic On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings

Thankfully, the world is open for travel once again. Traveling can broaden our horizons and make space for people to become more open-minded. How can travel give us the opportunity for personal growth? What are some ways that travel can help us become better human beings? As a part of our series about “How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelly Johnson.

Kelly Johnson is the owner and founder of Snap Travel Magic, a travel blog for globetrotting 9–5ers. She provides tips and tricks for the average person to make the most of their vacation days. Kelly creates 1–10 day itineraries for many major cities around the world. Learn more about Kelly at Snap Travel Magic.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I grew up in Northern Virginia, right outside of Washington D.C. I was very active in sports, playing soccer, swimming, lax, and running track. My favorite pastimes were reading and writing and spending time with my mom and sister. When I was 12 we moved a bit further into the country, and my time was spent taking care of my horse, Fritz, and playing saxophone in the school band. I had a very happy childhood, but travel was not involved in it at all. My mother was terrified of flying, so our trips were restricted to those we could take by car: St. Augustine, Florida, the Smoky mountains, the Outer Banks. When I graduated high school I took a trip with my teacher to Italy and Greece; the trip changed my life.

I fell in love with traveling. And throughout college, every decision I made revolved around trying to travel more. I studied English at Virginia Tech in the hopes to be a teacher so I could travel during my summer. I moved down to Florida and began doing just that: teaching and traveling during my summer vacations.

On my first big Europe trip I skipped my flight back to the states and stayed in Europe for almost 4 months working as an Au Pair in Rome. I call it my own personal study abroad experience. I came back to the states, moved cities, and just kept traveling more and more whenever I could.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

There were two travel bloggers who inspired me to start travel blogging: Liz from Young Adventurous and Kate from Adventurous Kate. I had never heard of travel blogging until 2014 when my friend sent me their websites. I was hooked, I devoured each article they wrote and knew I wanted to do something similar. I began my travel blog in 2014, but it didn’t really start taking off until 2020.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

My mom and my sister were both paramount in me starting and growing my blog. My sister because she had the guts to move down to Florida for college. I was very timid and too scared to leave home when I was 18, she inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and not be afraid to take risks.

My mom because she funded and allowed me to go on my first trip. I remember when I asked her thinking she would immediately say no, but she surprised me. She has always encouraged me and supported me when I’ve traveled alone and supported my dreams.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

Growing my blog I’ve made so many mistakes-accidently deleting my entire website, publishing an article and not making it public, the list literally goes on and on and on. I spent hours trying to figure out how to use wordpress and how to write an optimized blog post. I knew nothing, so every step in the process was new and exciting but also extremely scary and challenging. Building anything from scratch is a challenge.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

One poem by Robert Frost says, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I, I took the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” I try to be comfortable doing things my way, and not letting people dictate how I should live my life. I also don’t let it bother me when I do something that is very popular. I love Paris, I will always love Paris. I love tourist attractions. I’m not less of a traveler because of that. And at the same time a big portion of my finances go towards travel, that might not be a decision that everyone makes. But for me, that’s what I want to do. So just being comfortable in myself and the decisions that I make is how I try to live my life.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Right now I’m working on a series of 3-day itineraries for popular, easy-to-access destinations. My primary audience is American, and we don’t get a lot of vacation days, so my goal is to create really great itineraries for major cities that people can use to go on long weekend trips. I think making travel more accessible to people is really important. A travel itinerary takes the guesswork, and just overall work, away from people-and lets them focus on experiencing another culture.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview about travel and personal growth. Let’s dive deeper into these together. Based on your research or personal experience, why do you think travel can lead to personal growth? Can you share a story?

I think when someone is younger, and stays in the same place for a lot of their lives, they are often very insular. They believe that everyone thinks and acts the same way that they do, their perspective is really small. But when you start traveling you start realizing that you and your way of life isn’t the only way of life. There are people with different lifestyles, governments with different ways of doing things, people with different religions and belief systems, there are people with extreme wealth and people in abject poverty. When you travel, your worldview expands. I think you become more open minded, more empathetic, and more loving. You will be so thankful for your life and where you live, but you also may start questioning your way of life and what you know.

A recent survey from Psychology Today showed that over 80% of participants found that travel helped them with problem-solving or decision-making. Why do you think this is true for so many people?

Travel takes you outside of your comfort zone. When you’re in a country with a different language, culture, and transportation system you’re going to have to figure some things out. You may have to figure out how to navigate from the airport to your hotel, how to order or ask for directions in a different language, you have to adjust to the lifestyle and cultural norms of where you are. It can be quite stressful but it also can help you become more confident and more capable of your abilities, it can help you realize that you are capable of much more than you think you are.

Do you think travel enhances our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude? How? Can you please explain with an example or story?

I am not sure if I am more optimistic after traveling for so many years. I am more mindful, and definitely more grateful. I won’t ever forget when I was taking an atv tour around Cusco, Peru, I saw little children, maybe 6 or 7 years old playing barefoot with an old, deflated soccer ball. They were living in homes made of cardboard, but they were so happy. Whenever I start thinking about my circumstances, I remember there are so many people all over the world that are less fortunate than I am. It really puts things into perspective.

Surely not everyone who travels automatically becomes an exemplar of human decency. What are a few reasons why some people completely miss out on the growth opportunities that travel can offer?

I think people can choose to remain insular-they can choose to not engage with a culture, or not open their eyes to a different way of life. It can be hard to break thinking patterns that one has had for their whole life, and I think when you travel you have to have an open-mind. I also think that change doesn’t happen overnight. One trip (for most people) won’t drastically change them. It took me several years and several trips for my perspectives to shift. If people have a bad experience traveling, or they are afraid, that can also cause them to be more closed off and not open to growth.

Thank you for that. Now for our main question; What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop In Order Make Travel Into An Opportunity For Personal Growth?”

1. Listen More. When you travel, and even when you’re at home, make sure to listen to others. Allow people to share their stories, and put yourself in a position to hear about other people’s lives. When I was traveling in Serbia I spent a lot of time listening to people’s stories. I had my friend as a translator, but I heard about what life was like when Serbia was being bombed, and how children would play quietly in basements and bomb shelters. People told me what it was like for the government to make promises about rebuilding Serbia and how their hopes were dashed. I heard about what happened during a major flood in Serbia and how Serbians left work and got on buses to help with recovery. I listened and was able to recognize and appreciate different people’s experiences and history and mindsets.
2. Be open. Understand that there is not one correct way of doing things, and embrace the differences in lifestyle, culture, and beliefs. When I traveled in Thailand I was turned away from a temple for wearing tight pants. I thought that since they covered my knees I was okay, but I was turned away after waiting for an hour. I was very frustrated but then I realized that this wasn’t my country, and I had to follow the rules of this country. Subtle cultural rules like not talking on public transport in Japan, eating late in Spain, saying “Bounjour” when I greet someone in France, be open to different ways of living.
3. Don’t Get Frustrated. Travel forces you to problem solve, it can put you in really challenging and frustrating situations. Most recently on a trip to Sweden I almost broke down crying because I could not figure out the Stockholm metro. I couldn’t find the entrance, and had to ask someone, then I tried to buy a ticket three different ways while a line of Sweds formed behind me. I was tired and sweaty and had all of my luggage with me. I finally bought a ticket, then had to figure out which way to go in the metro, and which stop to get off on. I was so tired, and I had to figure out how to get to my hotel. I have so many experiences where I had to figure out directions, money, had to deal with a language barrier, the list goes on. Don’t get frustrated, rather, celebrate that you are growing and learning self-reliance.
4. Believe in Yourself. You are capable of more than you think you are. You can navigate a foreign country on your own, you can problem solve. When my flight was canceled, I had to get myself back to the city center, find a new hotel for the night, and rebook my flight for the next day. When I missed my train connection I had to figure out how to book a new train ticket (in the era before smartphones.)
5. Don’t stay in one place. The touristy, historic centers of a city are beautiful, but try to see other places, see smaller towns, take a road trip, visit a smaller city. If you’re on a cruise ship try to go beyond the port. Keep moving, keep meeting people, keep experiencing what a country has to offer. When I visited Lithuania, I stayed mostly in Vilnius, which was beautiful. But we also took a trip out to the country and got to see a different way of life and a different side to Lithuania that opened my mind to how people are living in rural areas.

From your experience, does travel have a negative impact on personal growth too? Is there a downside to travel?

I think that travel has made me more frustrated with injustices that happen in my own country and around the world. I have less patience with governments or people that do not look out for each other. I see how life could be in some places, and it frustrates me that greed gets in the way.

I also feel that my daily life can be a bit boring when I’m not traveling. When you travel everything is new and exciting and you’re just getting hits of dopamine constantly. At home my life can look a little lackluster. I constantly have to remind myself of how great my life is and how much I have to be thankful for.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

I’m so shy in person that I probably wouldn’t know what to say to people that I look up to. Meeting fellow travel bloggers that have made an impact in the industry would be absolutely incredible!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can follow me on TikTok or Instagram at @snaptravelmagic. You can also read more about my travels on my blog, Snap Travel Magic.

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.