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

Jessica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Language and travel are two of the most powerful tools we have as humans. This is something I have always been aware of, including its extreme transformational tools. Growing up, I was extremely shy and had low self esteem. Language class was the only place in school I felt safe. I wasn’t supposed to understand everything and I was supposed to feel different.

The same happened when I first started traveling. I was supposed to be the outsider, meant to feel different and misunderstood. It was my first sense of normalcy at an adolescent.

We also can led travel lead us there. To wander. Most people pack their itineraries, stuffed with activities down to almost the minute. But so much magic is missed when travelers don’t take the time to wander.

After teaching in public schools for 12 years, a life path that most people respected and honored, I knew that I no longer wanted be part of the toxic and oppressive American school corporation. I started looking for a way out, and that’s how The Wander Word was born.

The Wander Word provides a holistic approach to travel, not just planning your trip like an agent or showing you the best IG photo ops like an influencer, but truly providing travel support on the practical, spiritual, and personal levels that travel hits when we take mindful and transformative trips.

Jessica, 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?

The Wander Word’s mission is to help people use the transformational power of travel to expand, grow, and become more authentic. As a travel mentor, Jess helps people heal with spiritual travel, or rather, moments and experiences that allow the travel to be more open to deconstruct learned behaviors and past trauma in order to reconnect to the most authentic self.

Travel can activate emotions that lead you on a quest to find the core of your true self. By taking mindful and intentional trips using life goals and cultural immersion, travelers can connect back to themselves and use the transformation to inform other areas of life that need improvement and freedom.

Jess provides different services linked to mentorship and coaching as well as the practical side of travel. She works with clients in one-on-one mentor programs, group programs, traditional travel planning, and travel consultations.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In my early 20s, I married someone from another country. The fantasy I had always dreamed of quickly turned into a nightmare. This person became toxic, manipulative, and physically abusive. For years, I quietly endured the abuse, unbeknownst to my family and friends. I was suffering from depression and low self worth which my abuser used as ammo to control me.

One day, he strangled me. I thought about my mom. There was no way I was going to die from this abuse, so that day I went to the police station and filed a restraining order and police report. For years, he still found ways to contact me, even showing up at my house. Finally, after 2.5 years, we were divorced and I could start living my life.

In just 6 months, I improved my mental health, got out of massive debt, bought a car, and started solo traveling. The liberation my soul felt was unparalleled, catapulting me into a series of growth experiences that still happen today.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

For 12 years, I was a public school teacher. I taught Italian, French, and Spanish at my local high school. I ran the yearly cultural fair, created and implemented the Italian AP program, and ran 3 international trips with students.

I loved teaching until I didn’t. The American public school system continues to become more disconnected with actual education and mental wellness and more connected to numbers and money. Districts can be toxic, racist, and misogynistic. After years of loving teaching, it began to take an astronomical toll on my mental and physical health.

I meditated on the decision for years and ultimately gave my notice in April 2022 that I would finish out the school year and not be returning. My colleagues thought I was crazy to leave such a stable job and I thought they were crazy to stay.

Since quitting, I’ve grown my business, increased my self care and mental wellness ten fold, and taken 3 international trips. The freedom and authenticity unlocked by this choice has shown me that a job is just that, a job that may not necessarily be the healthiest choice for you. Many people follow the set and expected path that others assume they will continue to follow. This is not for everyone!

Contact Info:

• Website: Http://thewanderword.com
• Instagram: Http://instagram.com/thewanderword
• Facebook: Http://facebook.com/thewanderword

Image Credits
First image – @kiannanoterman