Buckle up for some real talk about the early feedback on my Gap Year With Amy (GYWA) blog. It’s been a learning project putting this blog together, and gathering reactions was a fun next step. I’m excited to share the love, laughs, and light bulb moments that came from my family and homies diving into my posts. Let’s unpack the solid gold they dropped, and how it’s fueling my mission to help others create their own big, beautiful lives.
Heartfelt Thanks for the Feedback Love
I’m bursting with gratitude for my closest peeps who didn’t just skim my blog but read it, like, multiple times and gave me their unfiltered thoughts. That’s love. Giving honest feedback isn’t easy—it’s like grading your best friend’s homework. Their love and wisdom handed me three electric takeaways: my storytelling’s hitting home, my CTAs need work, and my gap-year glow-up is surprising even to my inner circle. Here’s how it’s shaping the Gap Year Movement.
The Power of Storytelling
Stories are the best. They’re like time machines, letting us soak up the wisdom of authors from centuries ago. Sometimes they help us relive (and review) our own highs and lows with fresh eyes. But the real magic? Stories connect us, sharing messages that stick and spark something deep.
Writing from the heart isn’t always easy. Baring your soul means risking the “What if they hate it?” spiral. What if it’s too much? Too braggy? Too me? And sometimes you get feedback that feels really personal because you’ve put your person out there to be judged. Frankly, I put my person out there to be judged about a million times a day in my corporate career so this shouldn’t be a new type of scary. But it IS because this story is about me and how I’m living my life rather than about clients, crew, and spreadsheets. But hey, screw the spiral—hit publish anyway, because the ones who vibe will stick around for the ride, and the haters? They can keep scrolling. You got this, heart on sleeve and all.
I’m just finished reading The Holographic Universe and it has me thinking: If life is just a projection or hologram of my own imagining, why not make mine effing spectacular? I’m here to listen, write and tell some epic stories that light up souls—mine included.
P.S. 10/10 recommend The Holographic Universe and reading books in general.
WTF is a CTA?
Two of my favorites asked, “What are your CTAs?” and I was seriously like, “WTF is a CTA”? Turns out it means “Call to Action” in case you were also in the dark. Y’all, I legit don’t recall hearing that term, which is comedy gold after 25 years in the corporate grind. Guess my gap year brain has officially unsubscribed from the business jargon newsletter.
Regardless, the CTA question is a damn good one! My blog’s all about inspiring you to live big, so here’s the Call To Action: Sign up for my weekly newsletter to get fresh stories and tips, and follow me on your fave social platforms for new post alerts. It’s your ticket to joining this gap year adventure and snagging ideas for your own epic life blueprint.
The Many Faces We Wear
This feedback threw me for a loop. I got a couple of laughing tone shocked questions about things I had written. It was like they were trying to figure out if I exaggerated my face off in these posts, or if I really was this person having a whole new set of experiences.
Here’s a wild realization: Everyone’s got their own version of you in their head. It’s like Don Miguel Ruiz shares in The Fifth Agreement, everyone in your life sees you as a different version of yourself because they are looking at you through their own personal lens and experiences in the world. This means that your mom sees you as one person, your dad might see you totally differently, your sister has yet a different idea, and your husband might not recognize any of those versions.
The New and Improved Version
So when my crew was shocked to learn new things about me, it hit me—obvi, they don’t know this Amy, truly-living-and-enjoying-life Amy. For 25 years, I was Corporate Amy and Mom Amy, juggling kids, pets, family, and a demanding full-time job. Free time? Ha! I was lucky to sneak in a workout a couple times a week, pick up my dry cleaning before it went to dry cleaning jail, and not let the dogs starve. My reading list was all business, leadership, and finance sales books. Snoooooooze.
It tracks that folks didn’t know that I loved to read, write, and develop language skills. Friends were surprised by my new interest in weight lifting and CrossFit (in their defense I was a regular attendee at happy hour with a plate of nachos). My parents were stunned to learn that I had changed my eating habits so much that it rewired my taste buds and created a new enjoyment of worldly cuisines.
So yeah, now I’m obsessed with learning new languages, getting that first strict pull-up, and delicious new flavors like Thai Food, crab cakes, and green olives stuffed with jalapenos. Why? Because I’m not the same Amy who played it safe and stuck to a predictable routine. The gap year experience has been a revolution—new places, new perspectives, new passions. Why stick to the same old when I’ve rewritten the script? I’m out here sipping brews in new cities, hiking trails I’d never heard of, and saying yes to flavors I used to dodge. It’s not just change; it’s a full-on reinvention.
Hot tip: If you’re feeling stuck in your “old version,” try one small change this week—like trying a new food or hobby. It sparks that inner revolution.
Chasing That Big, Beautiful Life
At my core, I believe everyone deserves a life that’s big, fat, and unbelievably beautiful. To me that’s time and financial freedom to live your way, soaking up new perspectives and finding magic in the everyday. I didn’t always live like that, though. Corporate Amy was all about the hustle—climbing the ladder, leading teams, mastering the inbox, and trying to deliver workplace psych without it being cringe. It was a great experience… until it wasn’t. One day, that Corporate Amy character closed her laptop confidently and said, “Fuck it, I’m done with this chapter.”
Now, I’m all about chasing what lights me up—spending time with people who vibe with my energy, noticing the Universe’s little winks, like a perfect sunset or a stranger’s kind smile. Take last month, for example: we got on the wrong train in Germany cursing our error, only to meet the kindest drunken strangers on their way home from Oktoberfest. We spoke broken English, German, Spanish, and got a few Czech lessons. We ate delicious Indian Food in the middle of the night and spoke German to train attendants serving beers to console us on our rookie mistake.
That’s the kind of magic I’m talking about. This gap year’s shown me that life’s too short to play small. Whether it’s trying painting, booking a last-minute trip, or savoring a slow morning coffee, I’m here for it all.
Your Turn to Spark a Revolution
So, that’s the scoop from my blog’s early feedback—stories that hit home, a crash course in CTAs, and a reminder that we’re all works in progress. My gap year’s taught me to lean into the scary, soul-baring stuff and embrace the new versions of me popping up. What’s one step you’re taking toward your big, beautiful life? Drop it in the comments—I’m here to cheer you on like a hype squad at a pep rally.
Oh, and don’t sleep on this: Join the newsletter for weekly doses of gap year inspo, and follow me on socials to catch new posts. Let’s make our hologram projections epic together!
xoxo Amy – your professional gap year guide and grateful feedback seeker