Escape: The Essence of Travel
Traveling is our natural way of escaping reality, but for some people, it is their way of creating a new one.
Ms. Anne Gumiran, also known as “Queeny” is a teacher and a travel blogger based in Tagaytay, Philippines. Travel blogging is one of those things on the internet that is not getting enough recognition that it deserves. For starters, a travel blogger is a person who travels a lot and writes about those travel experiences. A travel blogger like Ma’am Queeny then publishes those written experiences to their page for the people to read. Ms. Anne now owns a page named “The Queen’s Escape” with 71,000+ followers, where she aspires to publish more blogs as she conquers the 81 provinces of the Philippines.
Writing alone lets us escape reality and experience different worlds. This is the case for ma’am Queeny as she used to write even before, but instead of publishing her writings, she kept her stories to herself. She perceived writing as a way to purge her emotions, not until 2017 when her journey as a travel blogger began. She was in her depressive state at that time and her letters to herself weren’t enough to keep her company anymore. One day, Ms. Anne’s friend invited her to a trip to Puerto Galera, and that became the turning point of her being a travel blogger. She wrote about her experiences on that trip, and since then, her stories were open to everyone.
“The Queen’s Escape” has a nice ring to it, maybe you have visited this page before, it is the name of ma’am Queeny’s blog page on Facebook where she shares her travel experiences. The term "Queen” is derived from Ms. Anne’s nickname, while the word “Escape” as she said and I quote “…is a word that best captures the essence of my travels - to leave, to escape from the routine, the toxicity or whatever it is that's weighing me down.” She also mentioned that the term “Escape” goes in two ways, one is the aforementioned, and the other, the stories of her great escape and her valuable experience outdoors.
Among the countless articles that she published on her page, ma’am Queeny’s "Huwag maging turista sa sariling bayan" stands out the most. In this blog, she encourages Pilipinos to explore most of the places in our country first before aiming to travel abroad. For Ms. Anne, this is her most successful post, not because of the number of reactions and engagements on her page, but because a lot were persuaded to explore the hidden gems of this Pearl of the Orient.
“This post started threads and discussions on the comment sections on how great the Philippines is and how we have not seen the most of it. There were people who shared their stories of adventures and misadventures in the less-traveled places in the country and how they were in awe knowing that such places actually exist here.” Ms. Anne added.
Priority, discipline, and balance. These are the three key things to ma’am Queeny’s success in managing her time being a full-time teacher and a travel blogger. Her official time is solely dedicated to her work. Being a teacher is indeed a significant and rewarding job, but it can also become taxing at some point. So, during her day offs, her top priority is her well-being.
“…I don't just live this life solely to earn a living but to be alive in all aspects as well,” Ms. Anne said that what she is doing might be tiring, but if you love it, you will never get exhausted at all because you enjoy every moment of it.
Ma’am Queeny’s plan five years from now is to become a travel journalist who has gone to and would be telling stories about the 81 provinces of the Philippines. Her ultimate goal is to visit every province in our country and immerse herself in its diverse culture. “I would like to be that travel journalist who tells stories that matter - of people and their culture, the history, apart from just providing comprehensive travel guides to beautiful destinations.”
Making a name or creating a mark in this industry is at the back of Ms. Anne’s head as she didn’t start travel blogging for the name and the people in the first place, but she mentioned that if it happens then that can be an added reward.
Traveling is indeed a great way to escape reality, but for some people like Ms. Anne, it is a way to create a new one. Reality can be disappointing and depressing at some point, so it's better to escape from it once in a while. For whatever it is that we are doing right now, might it be studying, applying for a job, starting a business, etc., we should not forget to take care of our well-being. Go travel and escape because, at the end of the day, we are not just here to earn a living but to be alive in all aspects as well.
