2018, you’ve been amazing! A week ago I shared my ‘2018 recap video’ on my Instagram @pilotmaria and full version on my YouTube channel, same name youtube.com/pilotmaria. When going through video clips from the past year I can’t do anything but smile, it has been by far the best year ever! So I won’t say ‘2019 let’s make it the best year yet’ because if 2019 is just half’s as good as 2018 was to me, I consider myself lucky.
2018 was the year that I went to Dubai for the first time, I also went back a second time a few months later, took my ‘Open Water’ Padi qualification in the Philippines, held a Ted x talk (see full speech here: ´My view from 38.000 feet´) for more then 1000 people in the audience and even more watching it live, moved from Sicily to London, ticked off most of my 2018 Bucket List goals such as going to Hawaii and Canada, tried rock climbing and flew in a hot air balloon (read my full 2019 Bucket List).
So for the new year, what can I do different this time? I decided to make 2019 the year of #RealStagram It´s not about me posting every time I accidentally pick my nose or every single meal that I eat. I want to take you with me, share the nonglamorous running sweaty through airport terminals, my feeling when I get up at 03:00 am, I want to share behind the scenes stories, show you what goes on behind every photo and video, show you all the hard work! I feel that social media can be a misleading world where the word ´lucky´is used more often than someone complimenting ´your hard work paid off´ Don´t get me wrong, I most times do feel like the luckiest girl alive. But the things that I do, the travels that I go on, I don´t get to do those things because of luck, so I want to share all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, the early mornings and sitting for hours waiting for the perfect light or retake a photo for the 200th time. I don´t want anyone to say ´I want your life´without knowing the hard work behind it, that everything is not always as “picture perfect as it seems” This is not about me suddenly going negative, I’m still happy positive me who try to see every side of life a bit brighter, it’s more about showing the truth and that hard work pays off.
I look forward to sharing my adventures with you in 2019, thank you for being here, you are the reason that I can do what I do and if I could I would personally hug each and every one of you, without you, nothing of this would be possible. You are the reason that I can do this, for that, THANK YOU, thank you for coming along on my travels and follow my journey, you have no idea how much I have you to thank you for.
So here’s for a New Year, new opportunities!
Cheers
xx Maria
Presets that I use to edit my photos now available here: https://sellfy.com/pilotmaria
Hello Maria, your hard work was worth it. Always nice pictures and interesting stories. I look forward to more stories in 2019. All the best and health to you. Thank you LG Andreas 🙋♂️😃
Hi maria Australia 🇦🇺 should be a trip for 2019 we have great camping ⛺️ in the blue Mountains,also lake Lyell near Lithgow.In door skydiving at penrith and wonderful diving and surfing 🏄🏻♂️ up and down the nsw coast. I loved your photos and stories for 2018 thanks Peter Hollingworth.