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Mélange : Did you go to Canada with the idea that ‘ I want to do this to expand my horizons ?’
Shannon : Yeah . I felt that I needed to set that challenge myself . I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it . I was lucky that I grew up in a family where travel was encouraged . I had older sisters who traveled and my parents had always encouraged it , so I definitely had that support . But yeah , I knew that I had to put myself out of that comfort zone , and I ’ m really glad that I did .
Mélange : Looking at your blog , we see that you ’ ve been almost everywhere . How do you choose [ your destinations ]?
Shannon : I ’ m very much someone who doesn ’ t like the big tourist spots . For me , traveling is a way of escaping normal life for a bit . I kind of seek out the quiet and lesserknown places . I ’ m also quite frugal by nature . Typically , there ’ ll be a particular area that I ’ d really like to see . For example , with Canada , I really wanted to see the Rockies because in the UK , we don ’ t really have big mountains . With Germany , I really wanted to see the Black Forest . There ’ s always one particular area I ’ ll be curious about , and then I ’ ll just plan the rest around that .
Mélange : Now about your
book
Trail of Worth that came out last month : what inspired you to write [ it ]?
Shannon : I have been writing since I was a kid , but I never had [ a ] story that really motivated me to put words to paper . Then in December 2019 , I was home at Christmas and was feeling really restless . I started reading through journals from my first year in Canada . [ I thought ], ‘ there ’ s maybe a unique story here that might be interesting or inspiring to people ’, especially women who ’ ve maybe thought about traveling or moving overseas .
Photo by : Tamara Esselink
I think part of the reason that I wanted to cover many different themes [ in the book ] was because I hadn ’ t come across many books that really covered the female experience in the mid 20 ’ s . I just felt that it was important to write something that was very authentic and relatable that gives an honest portrayal of moving overseas and relationships , along with all the other events that are going on in your life at that time .
Mélange : You said that the book will be useful to people who struggle with age bias or imposter syndrome and also people who felt like they ’ ve experienced a quarter-life crisis or a loss of self-worth . Why do you think these people will be impacted ?
Shannon : The story is about a girl who moves overseas and has this big life change . She commences this journey to overcome a lot of self doubt . In the process , she enters a period in life that I think we all do : [ a ] point where we ’ re a little unsure [ of whether ] we ’ re on the right path , we ’ re a little unsure about the future , and we ’ re maybe comparing ourselves to others and their lives .
Age bias and imposter syndrome are some themes that come up quite frequently in the book , particularly in terms of the workplace . It was important for me to showcase those themes because as someone who works in HR recruitment , I have noticed that a lot of women in [ the millennial ] age group experience those issues , especially the age bias . More women are getting degrees