Gina’s Story
Welcome to girl gone coconuts
A Little About Me: I’m Gina, the creator of Girl Gone Coconuts and a New England native who decided to follow her childhood dreams of exploring the world. I grew up in a very small town in Massachusetts where I spent countless hours in my childhood home dreaming about being a world traveler. I created a photo collage on my wall of all the places that I promised myself I would one day visit. Little did I know, I was slowly manifesting this dream into reality as I stared at that collage every morning and every night before bed. The second I graduated high school, I used up all of my savings and spent a month exploring Southern Italy and a small Greek island called Meganisi. It was at that moment that I knew traveling was what set my soul on fire.
Fast forward 8 years (that’s insane), and I was flying as a Flight Attendant, what I thought was my dream job. After almost two years on the line, the lack of sleep, wonky diet, and extreme exhaustion pushed me to want something different for my life. I was saving all this money from working two additional jobs as well (as a Realtor and Bottle Service Girl) and finally asked myself: What am I doing working so much and why am I never home or just enjoying my life in general? So I quit… packed my bags, sold almost everything, and moved to Indonesia for a year—truly the best decision of my life.
Now, after nearly starting this blog once when I was eighteen and again when I was in Indonesia, I have finally decided to make my second passion a reality as well: blogging and sharing secrets and tips about the places I travel to and how I move around so much. It is my hope that this blog can serve those looking for tips for their annual vacation or those wanting to backpack the world and explore.
Most Asked Questions:
Why “Girl Gone Coconuts” — Long story short: Girl Gone Coconuts was born when I truly felt “coconuts” (crazy) for leaving my jobs and life in New England to move across the world with absolutely no plan except to follow where I truly felt pulled. Being “coconuts” is also meant to be a satirical way to refer to how my mental health journey can sometimes make me feel—truly coconuts and maybe a little gone too… A coconut a day keeps the doctor away, right?
Mental health is sort of a taboo topic even today, but I have learned to embrace who I am. Hopefully, along the way, I can also share some of this part of my life as well.
How do you manage to travel so much? (finances) — This one is simple: I was never someone who liked expensive things or “name-brand” items. The most expensive thing I ever bought in my life was a car, and that was because I needed to get to work (lol). Even then, I bought a used car with my only request being heated seats for the winter. During my five years in Boston, I lived with one to three roommates, did not eat out much, and only got sides and appetizers, and when I did travel, I chose cheaper days with cheaper flights or transportation means and cheaper places to stay. That's really my “secret”—living within my means and maybe even below at times.
What took you so long to finally follow your dream of traveling? Really, the same things I think as most people: listening to societal standards, worrying about the future, worrying about making a mistake—the list goes on. I had really great jobs and was surrounded by amazing friends and people. It took me some time to finally realize that something was always going to be missing. I had to ask myself: Is being content enough for me?
What’s your goal with Girl Gone Coconuts: I sort of mentioned it above. I want to help others see the beauty in exploring the world, give tips and “secrets” to make travel more accessible and feasible, and help people decide what they want to do when they travel to similar places. I want to help others drift from living a life of contentment to living a life of meaning, one they truly feel drawn to and love. And finally, I hope that like younger versions of Gina out there, they can use this as a place to help imagine their future of being a world traveler. Remind them in this world of chaos, that anything is still possible!
