BERLIN, GERMANY
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR | WITH YOU – TRAVIS GARLAND
Before there was SnacChat, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Pintrest, Periscope or Soundcloud, there was just the internet. It was a large and vast place, and this new concept of a digital diary / journal was being conceptualized. Platforms like WordPress and BlogSpot came into being to allow the digitally-curious a simple, easy way to begin these diaries, and they quickly began to be called ‘blogs’ – short for a ‘weblog’, which was exactly what it sounded like. A log, kept on the web, or anything and everything. This was 2007, and this was when I clicked around for a few minutes on BlogSpot, set a URL, and began typing. Since then, the world and the internet has evolved immensely – this space is now ran through WordPress and hosted online with a custom domain; the photos are (for the most part) taken on a digital SLR camera, and this also acts as my professional writing portfolio that also highlights my other social media channels. I don’t think that anyone had any idea the degree or extent that both the internet or social media would take us. But here we are in 2016, and I am sitting in my studio in Berlin thinking back to the time when this ‘blogging thing’ was a trendy and fun hobby. Now, today, its my livelihood and my path forward in life. Since the inception of this blog, I have started and finished post secondary education; met, dated, proposed to and married the woman of my dreams; started and ended at least five career trajectories; circled through a handful of close friends; lived in five different homes, in three different cities; driven three different cars; and grown more physically, mentally and emotionally than I could ever believe. I was only twenty years old when I started this journey, at twenty one I was sitting a Burberry Prorsum Runway Show in London, at twenty two I dedicating myself to school, at twenty three I was taking the corporate plunge, at twenty four I was buying my dream car, at twenty five purchasing my first house, at twenty six proposing to my wife and at twenty seven launching KOHLERCHARLES.com. Last year, I got married to that beautiful human, and now, here I am at twenty eight, and proud that this space has been along for the entire ride and captured it all.
I graduated from university at Christmas of 2011, after a year packed with winter, spring, summer and fall courses, block weeks, online courses, anything I needed to do to finish that degree! I didn’t even have a job at the time because that would be impossible. Anyway, in January 2012, I was finally finished my Communications degree, and ready to hit the world hard with my enthusiasm and drive. That is when I began to apply for jobs, and printed out the job posting of each and every of the 168 jobs I applied for from that point forward. I was hired a month later on a temporary contract for a completely unrelated job at an accounting firm. I worked hard, and kept applying to jobs in the creative and communications related industries. In that firm, I transferred to a different position, and then to a completely different department – I was good at my job, but it was nothing that I wanted to do forever, nor that I enjoyed. I kept applying for different jobs, and then got hired at a completely different industry position in an unrelated field. The applications kept flying out, and interviews would be had, but nobody thought I had any relevant experience. This continued into 2014 and 2015, which is when my wife and I decided to quit the rat race, set our own schedule, and create our own experiences. At the beginning of this year, we took the biggest risk of our lives and set sail for Europe, to live as creative freelancers. My dream of waking up everyday and writing has been fulfilled. All day, I creative communicate with you all, with fashion brands, travel companies and readers on KOHLERCHARLES.com, and life could’t be happier. Before we left for Berlin, I finally threw away that stack of job postings. No experience in communications? Challenge accepted. Go out and conquer your goals. Live your best life. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Happy 8 Year Blog Anniversary to me!
