We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christina Gawlik a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christina, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
As a young child, my parents taught me how to be a diligent worker. At home, it was through regular household chores. However, my dad owned a company with a large warehouse. My parents would take me there and have me experience a few hours at a time as to what it’s like to have a job. By the time I was 7, I learned how to fill out a time card, follow directions for putting together small kits, or counting and separating quantities of small items likes nuts and bolts, and then packaging them to fill orders. At the end of my “shift” which was likely 1.5-2.5 hours, I would take my time card to the HR director, and that’s where we would count the petty cash together to determine my earnings for the day. I remember earning $2 per hour.
As a pre-teen, one of my hobbies was competitive dance which is expensive! The dance studio offered me the opportunity to teach the 5 & 6 year old dance classes, and they would waive my dance class tuition. I loved it! By the time I was 15, and legal to work, I started to add on more part time jobs. I gained employment at a diner, where I learned to work the drive thru, soda counter, and waitress. In summers, I became a camp counselor where I had been a camper for years, and I could still pop over to my dad’s warehouse and work some shifts if I’d like to save up for something special.
All of these childhood work experiences taught me time management skills and gave me confidence in trying new things; which led me to taking on many part time jobs and side hustles in my 20s and 30s, simultaneously with my primary responsibilities of higher education or full time careers. Bartending, pet sitting, tutoring, adjunct teaching, driving for ride share companies, and freelancing are some of the gigs I enjoyed during those decades.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Almost 2 years ago, I retired from careers in Mathematics and education. I had taught high school mathematics for a few years before earning a Ph.D which led me to become a University Professor. Later, I pursued careers on the back end of math education by working with Educational Technology companies as curriculum developers and managing professional development. As one opportunity leads to another, I started a freelancing business, providing editorial services in mathematics to textbook companies, tutoring centers, and Ed Tech companies. I had a very fulfilling career in my field, learning much about the industry, and truly enjoying all the conferences I was able to attend or speak at around the world.
It was a work trip to Dubai and Qatar that really sparked desire to travel the world, and I quickly booked my first European trip thereafter. By the time I was self employed with my freelance business that ran by email, I sold everything I owned and downsized to a suitcase and set off to live a ‘digital nomad’ life. I have been living abroad full time since 2019, hopping country to country every couple months, and loving every bit of exploring, learning, and making new friends. By living a more simple life, my expenses dropped significantly, and I was able to grow my business nicely. That combination allowed me to save and invest radically and in turn, I retired in April 2023 at the age of 43. All of that hard work from a young age paid off!
I spend my days taking long walks around the community I’m living in at the moment. I love visiting the many grocery stores and markets sprinkled throughout, and finding the best cafes and restaurant’s with owners who will not only greet you, but sit down and share their life’s story. When possible, I connect with local Rotary Clubs to learn about their initiatives and lend a hand. I also attend the local meetups and do my best to meet my neighbors. My nomadic life is focused more on living in the community, instead of sightseeing all the popular places. Sure, I get around to some, but I love getting to know the people and learning about their lives, challenges, and success stories. That’s what makes my nomad life fulfilling!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Being an excellent problem solver is the skill I use the most every day. This includes being resourceful and having good research skills. I am definitely a ninja at Googling at this point!
I also value the ability to pivot and being open to change. Regardless of living nomadic or not, life throws all of us curve balls, and being flexible can really be helpful when things don’t go as expected. I like to embrace those unexpected times too, as they tend to lead to something new or fun to experience around the corner. Heck, the world pandemic was a great example of everyone world wide needing to pivot and adjust to many different things unexpectedly. Also, a podcast called, The Minimalists, often refer to a situation that helps with gaining perspective: If everything in your life spontaneously combusts right this moment and no longer exists, what would you truly replace? This question helped me realize that stuff is just stuff. It’s my memories and feelings that are more important than the tangible items. And because I am at peace with that, if my belongings are ever lost or stollen, sure I would be sad, but it’s simply an inconvenience. As a good problem solver, I can replace the key items I need as a nomad, my passport and phone. I can buy new clothes, which I probably need to do anyways since I don’t own that many in the first place and what I do have, I hang onto for years on end.
Embracing every moment, even if you don’t like it, is a skill to be learned. I feel 2024 has been an “off” year for me. I haven’t been loving most places where I have lived. But these feelings have taught me more about what I don’t like, which will help me better in the future for making decisions so I can stay more on par with I do enjoy.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
In the last year, I’ve learned that I value protecting my alone time.
I am a very social being, yet I find myself absolutely exhausted at the end of the day if I have been out and about making new friends and enjoying the community. Because I meet so many fantastic people regularly, it is common for us to start with coffee and conversation in the morning, walk around town together and grab lunch, and continue more conversations over dinner and drinks. What I was anticipating as a 2 hour meetup, turns into 8-12 hour days, which happens more often than you would imagine. It’s the days that I stick to myself to rest or explore on my own, that I have learned to value more. I reflect a lot on life when I’m by myself, and it helps me plan out my nomad travels, like where I want to go and what I want to do there or accomplish when I am there. My personal time set aside now, goes well beyond an hour massage or pedicure. I love a good 2-hour walk, listening to my favorite podcasts, or having a day watching movies on the couch, cooking, playing sudoku on paper.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ChristinaGawlik
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asuitcaseandasmile
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinagawlik/
- Other: https://christinagawlik.wixsite.com/asuitcaseandasmile
Image Credits
Christina Gawlik
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