We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emilia Igartua. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emilia below.

Emilia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I would love to see more cultural experiences in schools, having students be way more in contact with different people, cultures, way of life. Whether its through field trips, exchange programs, or just cultural events and fairs that could serve as a window into the world. I believe that really learning about and being in touch with other cultures can shape a much more tolerant and positive world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always loved travel. When I was a kid I would devour and collect National Geographic magazines, staring into photos of what different corners of the world looked like. But I never really thought that “travel life” was really available for me. Traveling yes, but travel being my life? It was hard to imagine.

In February 2020, I traveled to Bali solo. I felt like I needed a change and a reset in my life, and I felt strongly called to Bali. And for a month, I explore the island solo. Just me, my backpack, and my laptop. But right when I was supposed to fly home to Mexico, the COVID pandemic hit, borders closed and I was stuck on the island.

Before leaving for Bali, I bought The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide to Bali, by Alexa West. This guidebook unlocked not just the island, but the world for me. In a serendipitous turn of events, I met Alexa, we became instant best-friends and sisters, and I began working with her.

Suddenly, travel had become my life. And I got to join Alexa’s movement to change the way and the why women travel through our best-selling and award-winning guidebook series.

Travel changed my life, and I love that now I can help women change their lives through travel too.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I believe our mission is two-fold: first, to show women that they can travel too. Millions of women travel the world solo everyday, so of they can do it, other women can do it too. We guide them through solo-female-friendly destinations and arm them with all the travel and safety tips and resources they need to explore the world in a smart and safe way.

And second, to steer travel into a more positive and mindful space. We encourage our readers to truly experience places, and to travel in a way that supports local communities.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think one of the biggest things I had to unlearn in this journey was that little voice in my head telling me that “nah, you can’t do that” or “no, that life is for others, but not for you”. I think it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that the dreams we have or the life we want is not really for us. This voice can comer from parents, teachers, your environment growing up, and it was through traveling solo that I was able to distance from my environment for a moment and realize that that voice wasn’t even mine to begin with. We carry so beliefs and voices that aren’t even ours. Becoming aware of them and unlearning them is one of the biggest things we can do for ourselves – and our dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.holaemilia.com/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/__helloemilia
• Linkedin: https://mx.linkedin.com/in/emiliaigartua