Young and
Restless by Shana Jones
“ We ’ re just tiny specks of dust in a huge galaxy and there are so many bigger issues than a few minutes of us feeling awkward or embarrassed .” – Shannon Colmon
These are the words of the young and the restless : not the characters in the daytime drama , but rather a young Shannon Colmon . At the age of 19 , she was bored , unfulfilled , and full of wonder about the world beyond her cozy North Yorkshire Moors , England existence . She had been bitten by the travel bug on a previous vacation and , restless , had returned home determined to make her gap year count . With eyes set on Vancouver , Canada , she planned her first solo trip abroad ; it was to be another addition to her Rolodex of far-away adventures , but little did she know that it would also inspire another parallel , life-altering journey . She shares her adventures and reflections on her
blog , and in her newly-released book
Trail of Worth . In a recent chat , we talked about how travel has landed her in some new “ destinations ” called independence , self-confidence , and personal fulfillment . introverted , and the idea of exploring a new place by myself was quite daunting .
During those five weeks , I really developed new-found confidence and independence and really came out of my shell . By the time I got to Vancouver Island , I was already falling in love with Canada for those reasons . But Vancouver Island just sealed the deal . As soon as I got on the ferry and saw the mountain views and the sun setting in the ocean …. I just thought it was amazing . I really loved it .
Mélange : Why did you chose [ to settle on ] Vancouver Island ? What is it [ about Vancouver Island ] that stands out ?
Shannon : It was basically the last leg on my journey through Canada the first time , which was in 2011 . Just to give some context , that journey itself was a really important one for my own personal development , because I was 19 years old , I was quite shy , [ and ] I was quite