At the end of 2018, Jen George was fed up with the way her life was going.
So she decided to give up her job and committed to a massive challenge – having an adventure every single day for the next year.
Jen, 27, from Exeter, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘I was a teacher up until last December and I just didn’t want to be indoors all the time anymore.
‘I’d always done a little bit of work in the outdoor industry but never fully committed to it.
‘I’d ended up on the hamster wheel of work. Time was running away and I was asking myself “what have I actually achieved?”‘
One night last December after her job as a Geography teacher, Jen was lying on her bed and realised she hadn’t seen daylight in weeks – and she just decided to completely change her life.
‘It was that point that I decided that I was going to do something everyday where I would see daylight and get fresh air.
‘I didn’t have a plan in place but I set up a blog and Instagram account and thought ‘ok now I am accountable because people are following me’.’
On 1 January 2019, Jen started her first adventure – a walk from Crantock to Pollyjoke, climbing along the sand dunes with her parents.
Since then, her adventuring has included everything from having a party inside a glacier to leading an expedition in Nepal.
She says: ‘I never had any set goals – I was quite flexible with it. I had some work planned in Croatia and India and I later added in the trip to Nepal and I had some things planned with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.
‘I was working as a freelance as an overseas exhibition leader or as a Duke of Edinburgh assessor so I could make money and have adventures at the same time.’
For Jen, she quickly realised that living like this completely changed her outlook on like.
She adds: ‘I learned that actively making time for yourself is really important. Sometimes it was a tiny portion of my day – just 10 minutes, and others were weeks long, but I did something exciting for myself every day.
‘Being outside is really good for your mental health.
‘People think they don’t have time for things but you can make the time.’
The other big thing Jen has enjoyed about her year of adventures is meeting people along the way.
‘I’ve met some amazing people, particularly young people through my work and they have really inspired me,’ she said.
A highlight for Jen was her time in Nepal and one moment in particular sticks in her mind.
‘They were the best expedition team I have ever had and we were in the most beautiful place.
‘Everything just came together and we watched the sunrise on the Mardi Himal trek.
‘I could see the impact the trek had on the students and it was just this magic moment.
‘We trekked through the morning to make sure we were up high when the sunrise came up and I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life.’
She does say that it was difficult not having a permanent base where she could settle.
‘I was technically living with my parents in Cornwall but most of my work was away from there so I spent a long time driving up and down the motorway.
‘It meant spending a lot of time by myself and away from home and I have just been very lucky that a lot of people have let me sleep on their sofas.
‘Sometimes you just want to be in the same place and it’s hard – when you get stuck in routine you want adventure but there were times I craved that routine again.’
Throughout everything, Jen was supported by a Facebook group called Say Yes More and she is now an ambassador.
Jen says: ‘They’ve been an amazing community and just encouraged me to go to things and literally say yes more.
‘It’s just magic to have these really positive, driven people.’
Although her year of adventure is coming to an end but Jen wants to keep it going.
She says: ‘I really want to make it a lifelong thing to have adventures every day. It has been so good for my mentally – my mental health wasn’t bad or anything but it’s just helped me feel so much better.
‘I’m not sure what I want to do with outdoor work as I’m thinking about retraining but this year has given me so much time to think and figure out what I want.’
Follow Jen’s adventures on her blog and on Instagram.
Have you had a sudden life change? Email metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/26/teacher-gives-up-her-job-to-take-up-365-days-of-adventures-11949221/
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