Josephine’s Bali Story brainstorming

Hi everyone! After getting laid off, I spent two months in Bali and have been reflecting on what angles I could come up with. Do you think any of these have potential? Do personal stories like these get published much? Sorry in advance for how long this is and the trauma dumping! lol

Why solo travel is important, from an ex-needy, codependent individual.
I used to be someone who always needed to be surrounded by people, throughout middle school and high school, someone always walked me home or stayed with me if I stayed after school. Even my econ teacher at graduation said, “We’re all so worried about Josephine, how is she going to survive college without all of us?” After I returned home from my solo trip to Bali, I now go to museums, Broadway shows, and eat at restaurants alone. Honestly, I think I’ve swung so far the other way that I actually prefer being alone now. It’s definitely made me more confident and comfortable with myself.

Getting Laid Off Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me
I used to think staying in a corporate job was the safest route, especially since I’ve been estranged from my parents. But getting laid off opened up the door for me to explore a life I enjoy. Since then, I’ve:
– Interned with an Architectural Digest photographer
– Worked for an interior stylist
– Took my first solo trip
– Learned to free-dive
– Got my yoga teacher cert
– Got published in Condé Nast Traveler
– Started painting
– Started a new career as a social media manager
– Created content for hotels in exchange for free stays

My Solo Trip Became an Unwanted Family Reunion
On my way to Bali, I stopped in Jakarta to see my estranged father for the first time since he left when I was 14. I discovered he’d married a 33-year-old woman (he’s 70) and had a 2-year-old son. For the few days I was there, he didn’t try to get to know me, so I have no idea why he invited me to stop by.

Then, in Bali, I met my maternal cousin Ada, who my father had somehow stayed in touch with despite my parents’ divorce and my mother’s estrangement from her own family. Ada told me the family “felt bad” for me growing up alone with my borderline mother but were “too scared” to help me. She also said I shouldn’t judge my father so harshly because “he’s all alone now” – despite his new family, while I’ve actually been alone, spending holidays with friends’ families since cutting off my mother in 2018.

The irony: my father maintained relationships with my mother’s family after their divorce, but barely maintains one with me. My mother’s family watched my struggles from afar but never helped, yet had opinions about how I should treat my father.

The trip was a gift to me, because it ended my ‘what if’ thoughts about family – I realized I genuinely didn’t care to know these people. I was infinitely happier exploring Bali alone than meeting relatives who’d never bothered to know me.