2020 Travel Plans, Coronavirus, and Asthma

“2020 is going to be one for the books. As you all know, I am on track to reach two major travel goals. One is to visit every continent, and the second is to visit all seven world wonders. Hopefully, I accomplish both goals in 2020.”

“I will be traveling to the following places in 2020:
Italy
Saudi Arabia
Mexico
Australia
Antarctica
Barbados
Brazil
Peru
And more……”

Reflection
I posted the above caption to my blog and Facebook page on December 31, 2019. Then there was a major shift, and coronavirus changed our entire lives. So far, all of my trips except for Mexico and Antarctica have been canceled. Antarctica will most likely be rescheduled very soon. I have always booked refundable flights and accommodations, so my cancellation process has been relatively easy and worry-free. 

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Asthma Concerns
I’ve never had a fear of death because I always knew that I had to go one day. I also knew that an asthma attack would most likely be the culprit. I developed asthma later in life, and it has indeed been a struggle. I struggled a little when I went to Petra, Jordan. I struggled even more when I went to Masada in Israel. When I took those trips, I did not know that I had asthma, but I knew something inside my body was off-way off. I went to the doctor as soon as I returned from Petra, and asthma was my new friend. Fast forward, I now pace myself when it comes to more strenuous travel activities because I could easily have an asthma attack. Taking medication helps a lot.

I may reach the finish line at my own pace, but I still finish the race!

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Working From Home
I received a call from my doctor in February, and he stated that he sent a refill to my pharmacy, and he is writing a letter so that I can work from home immediately because I am high risk. “Work from home immediately,” I thought to myself. I went to cdc.gov, and there it was as clear as day, “COVID-19 is a new disease. Currently, there are limited data and information about the impact of underlying medical conditions and whether they increase the risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Based on what we know at this time, people with the following conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19:

  • Asthma (moderate-to-severe)…”

This is Serious
I knew from the beginning that I had to take this disease very seriously. I started working from home in March. I watched the news as people became very ill and died from COVID-19. I thought that maybe this could be me one day. When I have an asthma attack, it is like one of the worst feelings. I literally cannot breathe. I could not even imagine having COVID-19 on top of that. It could truly be the death of me. I still was not going to live in fear, but I was going to take every precaution necessary to ensure that I protected myself and others. I stayed in the house for about three months. I only left for necessities. I am a germaphobe, so I already had a stockpile of Lysol wipes and sanitizer. 

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2020 is Not Cancelled For ME!
2020 is not canceled for me because every day that I wake up is a blessing. I have spent my time in quarantine accomplishing major goals that I did not see coming to fruition for years.

Here are some things that I have accomplished during quarantine:

⭐️ Attended three days’ worth of teachable webinars for content creators
⭐️ Grew my email list by 750 for my travel blog
⭐️ Completed & received certification from Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell certification program – Enroll here: http://www.bofainstitute.cornell.edu
⭐️ Completed FAU Hospitality & Tourism Certification program
⭐️Purchased all startup items for my new business venture! Something I’ve wanted to do for years. (New desk, printer, label maker, circuit, and all shipping supplies, etc.) New office loading…..
⭐️ Quadrupled my Youtube numbers. Finally, I am VERY close to becoming a Youtube partner. Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/user/karishaparks
⭐️ Organized my house from top to bottom- Whew!
⭐️Completed a consistency challenge by posting on my blog daily (M-F) for an entire month

Travel
Since I have always booked refundable trips, I watched worry-free as my trips canceled one by one. Some trips were refunded, and others I rescheduled. I never had time to worry about any of the trips being canceled because, honestly, my priority was to make sure that I stayed safe. After all, for me, getting sick is not an option. I prefer to avoid it altogether. 

Future Travel Goals
The countries and goals on my bucket list will always be there, and for now, I prefer to do the right thing for myself and others by not traveling. Some countries are opening up, and others remain closed. I will travel internationally again, but for now, I have a new set of travel goals. 

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Please stay tuned in to my journey to find out what my new travel goals are, and prepare for the ride because it will be a long one.

What travel plans did you had to change or re-arrange in 2020? What have you accomplished while in quarantine?