The other day, I received on a comment on a post along the lines of: how can I trust you to give advice about how to travel more? If I had brands or tourism boards sponsoring me, it’d be a lot easier for me to travel as much as you do. 

It’s a valid question: over the past six years, my travel style has changed and my opportunities have increased. It is easier for me to regularly go new places because of this: while not all of my travel is fully sponsored or compensated, I do often have reduced accommodation or activity or transportation costs.

But I don’t think that it makes me an unreliable source when it comes to thoughts on how to travel more, or advice on places that I’ve gone.

 First of all (and perhaps most importantly), I traveled plenty before any tourism board took notice. I self-financed the move to Nice that launched this blog, and the move to Melbourne that followed, and the solo adventures through Western Europe and Southeast Asia, and the road trip across the United States. And even now, there is travel that I do without any sponsor behind it, such as my recent time in Costa Rica or my trip to Mexico with my boyfriend’s family. I do not know what percentage of my income goes directly to JetBlue, but I can assure you it is significant.

The full-time jobs that I’ve held are the reason why I’m able to travel as much as I do. Like many of the readers of this blog, I work 40+ hours a week in an office building and I commute 45 minutes each way and I juggle how to best utilize my days of PTO. I save money by taking the subway and packing my own lunch. It’s also why I’m able to be incredibly selective about the brands I work with and the trips I take: I say no to about 90% of the opportunities that arrive in my inbox. And while my team’s flexibility about working remotely does make it easier to extend weekend trips, it also means that I am working far more often than my Instagram suggests (for reference: I only took two days of PTO on my last-minute trip to South Africa because I worked 4pm to midnight South African time every day).

And although my travel style has evolved and my disposable income has increased, the things that I love to do–and the things that I feel most confident encouraging others to do–have not changed. I wake up early and I ride bikes and I am in heaven when flowers are blooming. I still love cooking classes, bike tours, long walks on a search for awesome murals. But I am no longer a 21-year-old backpacking waitress: I’m a 27-year-old with a boyfriend and an apartment and a puppy on the way, and I’d rather get a good night’s sleep in a boutique hotel than spend $5 on a noisy and crowded hostel dorm room.

Even with my fixed life feeling very fixed, my greatest joy is still traveling to new places and finding interesting experiences to write about and colorful things to photograph. I’m incredibly grateful for the companies and destinations who help me see more new places–and in turn, hopefully inspire you to want to see those places.

And lastly: even when travel is sponsored, it is not free. The hours I spend on this working on this blog–writing posts, taking and editing photos, answering reader emails, sending out inquiries–aren’t salaried. The indirect payment for those late nights with my laptop: perhaps a free night in a hotel, or a discounted cooking class, or a trip to South Africa. It varies. And even then, it’s not even free: everything I receive complimentarily is done in exchange for more words written or photos taken.

As always, the biggest reason why I’m able to do what I love: my readers. Perhaps my second greatest joy is learning that I’ve inspired someone to try something new, whether it’s a far-flung destination or a first trip alone: it makes me feel like those late nights at my laptop are even more worth it. I hope that this post is a reminder that while the behind-the-scenes might not quite as glamorous as the highlight reel, it’s just as necessary.