I used to tell people I'm not a vlogger. Hell, I made multiple videos titled "I'm Not a Vlogger, I'm a Travel Host". But here's the deal, nowadays, they're the same thing. I wanted the show to be all about the location and me just a talking head but I couldn't figure out why people weren't watching. So I stopped, took a break and did a lot of research about consumers and social media. Here's my big takeaway: people don't want to just join for the destination, they want to be a part of the journey.

I remember growing up thinking it would so cool to have cameras follow everything I do. And this was WAY before social media and reality tv; even before the internet. But I shoved those feeling down because it seemed selfish and arrogant to think that anyone would want to watch that. But I realize now that I think that way because I like to watch other people's journey's. I like to learn from their honesty and lessons. I'm not a huge fan of reality tv because half the time it's scripted and edited. But raw vulnerability, I love watching that because it's real and it connects us all.

So as I figure all of this out (and work a ton of festivals making creating travel show content extra tricky), I'll be taking a brief pause from full Monica Goes episodes. I have been constantly cranking out episodes on a regular basis for over three years and have 60 full episodes now! I still love to educate through destination videos and will continue that as much as I can but I'll also be taking you guys on a more personal, behind the scenes journey for a bit. Instead of telling you what's going on, I'm going to show you. I'll be taking you guys along with me to country festivals, press trips, travel days, the good days, the bad days, the stupidly busy days, and everything in between!

So what's wrong with being a vlogger? Nothing! What if I want to be a travel host AND a lifestyle vlogger using whatever I'm going through to maybe help someone else or just show them that this lifestyle isn't always glamorous and it's a lot of hard work but it's what I love. In person I am always an open book and don't mind talking about anything and everything so why not starting putting that on camera? I will admit it's scary to put myself out there like that for strangers and the elusive World Wide Web. There is a ton of fear of judgement no matter how comfortable I may be in my own skin. But I believe the right people will find value (or just entertainment) from this and the wrong people, well this isn't for them. So, looks like I am a vlogger after all.https://youtu.be/CG25NiTzIAo