We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annette Bates a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Annette thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I absolutely wish I started my creative career sooner! I allowed my fear of judgement from others and self-doubt get in the way of starting early. I have come to a point in my life where I am much more secure in who I am and just don’t care what others think. I am prioritizing what brings me joy and focusing my energy on what I am passionate about.

Annette, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born, raised and currently living in SF-Bay Area, California. Despite popular belief, I do not travel full time, I have a nine-to-five job in healthcare. I put my goal of furthering my education aside to pursue creating travel content. I was bit by the travel bug back in 2016 and I haven’t looked back since. I have traveled to 27 countries which includes 3 World Wonder’s. I had always shared my travels on social media and throughout my travels I would have people ask me “How do you travel so much?” “Where did you stay or how did you enjoy that experience?” I decided it was time to smash all my self-doubt along with excuses and start taking content creation more seriously. I focus on showcasing must see destinations around the world with an emphasis on affordable luxury and soul enriching experiences. My goal is to inspire people to travel through storytelling and to provide helpful tips so others can become better travelers.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect is all the amazing human beings from all walks of life that I’ve met and the love and support I am showered with. I have received an abundant amount of feedback on how useful my tips have been, requests for input on the different counties I’ve visited or simple comments on how amazing my photos are. The feeling of gratitude is overwhelming. These interactions continue to motivate me to continue to share my travel experiences as often as possible. Because people have valued what I’ve shared, it has helped me step out of my comfort zone. Being a creative is pushing me to become more confident, assertive, refined, and a well-spoken version of myself.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My initial goal was to expand diversity within the travel industry. However the more I travel my goal has evolved into so much more to include sharing my lifestyle, plus size fashion and dining experiences. As I scroll through social media, it’s apparent there is a lack of creatives that look like me. My mission is to provide an authentic, diverse and unique perspective as a mixed race full figured traveler.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Jetset.nette