We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christina DiSalvo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christina below.
Hi Christina, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
As a self proclaimed co-dependent, I’ve always found myself attaching to my current partner, friend, or whomever else may be around. It wasn’t until 2018 when I went through a particularly difficult breakup that I realized it was time to focus on me. To love me. Once that ex and I parted ways, I bought myself a one way ticket to Bali. I had never left the US before and I didn’t even have a passport at the time (not recommended before buying foreign tickets, by the way). But I got my things together, got my passport, and sold every possession that wasn’t an absolute necessity.
Then I took off, solo, on a trip around the world. Just me and a few bags. It wasn’t until then that I had the chance to rely on myself. To make my own decisions and live with the consequences of my choices (both good and bad).
Through the years of errors, opportunities, and once in a lifetime experiences, I slowly built up my self esteem that was lost through that breakup. Every conversation with a stranger would build up my confidence a little more. Each time I worked my way through an interaction with someone who didn’t speak my language or figured out how a foreign currency worked, I would stand a little taller.
I fell so deeply in love with myself that I continued traveling like that for 7 years, adding to my bank of self confidence every day.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Since I’ve spent my previous few years working on bettering my mental health, I knew it was time to pay some attention to my physical health. Although I’ve always been “active,” it wasn’t until recently that I began to really research what is in our food, and what it can do for us or to us. I’ve dedicated so much time to understanding what compounds and ingredients are in our foods and the effects they have on our bodies. It is my goal to spread the knowledge and awareness to others, that may think they are eating healthy, but are actually wreaking havoc on their systems. I try to share what I learn on my Instagram page, and I’ve also created an Amazon Storefront with some of my favorite “clean” products. Going to the grocery store when you are new at deciphering food labels can feel wildly overwhelming, so I want to make it possible for others to navigate the struggle as simply as possible!
You can find some of my favorite suggestions here:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/wanderlustinghippie
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
– Fearlessness: I wasn’t always fearless. When I was standing in line to check in to my flight to Bali (alone!) my legs were shaking, I felt nauseous, and genuinely considered canceling my ticket. I was supposed to be excited, right? So why did I feel so awful? It was fear taking over. Fear of the unknown. Fear of self reliance. Fear of failure. I don’t know how my legs continued to take step after step, but somehow I managed to make it to the counter! The only advice I can offer others for conquering this is to go towards the fear. If you run away, the fear becomes bigger. When you face it head on, you take away its power. That even pours over into now, in my journey of wellness.
– Optimism:
Even though I was going through a tough time, my optimism always shined through! With just a smile and a quick “hello” to the people in line in front of me, I was able to make friends and make a connection that has lasted years! I’ve always had a happier than usual disposition, to the point where a customs agent even asked me once, “Why are you so happy?”
My response was, “Uhhhmmm, should I not be?”
It all comes from gratitude. Being grateful that you woke up this morning, that you have the ability to do these activities. For me now, I make sure to practice gratitude every day by thanking my eyes for opening, thanking my lungs for breathing without having to think about it. I slowly go though and thank every part of my body for operating as it should. Gratitude breeds optimism.
– Kindness:
Once you have nobody to rely on but yourself, you genuinely understand how far kindness can get you! Talking a little longer to the front desk workers, or saying a genuine hello to your server before ordering your meal. It’s the small things like that which help you in the long run. I remember once running into an issue where my debit card number was stolen from using one of the ATMs in Bali. At the time, I didn’t have a credit card, only this one bank card. They had to put a freeze on it and send me a new one (FROM THE US!!). It was about a 2 week wait.
Only because of my kindness toward others was I able to work out situations where people were willing to help me until the issue was resolved. It costs nothing to be kind, but it can cost you everything to be awful.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number one obstacle I’m facing currently is how to integrate my traveling lifestyle and my holistic/clean eating lifestyle into being a mother. Once I had a child, everything I knew changed. It was no longer just about me. Now the choices I make affect his life, too, which is what ultimately led to the research on clean eating and food awareness. I want to make sure he is healthy and well rounded, which has not been a priority for many parents in the past generations. In order to do that, I’m making sure to eat organic whenever possible and offering a wide array of food choices (not relying on frozen TV dinners which have been the norm for many parents over the years).
Additionally, I’m researching how to begin Worldschooling! Using the world as a classroom and meeting up with other families do the same things! Learn about history in Egypt for 3 months or research the rain forest in Costa Rica for 8 weeks. I’m so grateful to have this unique outlook on the world and can’t wait to provide my child this once in a lifetime kind of childhood.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wanderlustinghippie
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/christinadiane
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/wanderlustinghippie
