Can you believe it?! It has officially been one year since we launched our YouTube channel and started on this crazy journey. We started M&T Travels as a way to document the fun adventures we go on and push ourselves to do something more than take the train to Chicago and take a million pictures at the bean. While we still go to Chicago quite often, our vlog has allowed us to broaden our horizons and go places that we normally wouldn't- all to give our subscribers something more to watch! As much fun as we've had over the past year, we have definitely learned a lot about ourselves both as individuals and as friends. So! Here is what we have learned over the last 365 days as vloggers: Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to like your videos. Not everyone is going to like your Instagram pictures. Not everyone is going to subscribe to your channel. When we first created our social media accounts, we were anxiously waiting for people to follow us in order to feel like our videos were worth the time and effort. But in the end, who cares if no one watches our videos? Of course we would love for our adventures to be recognized by others, but we know that one day we will be able to look back on our videos and recall all of the fun times we had regardless of how many views they received on YouTube. We currently have about 575 Instagram followers and 40 YouTube subscribers, many of which we don't know! Social media is an interesting concept- it gives us the motivation to continue to post while simultaneously lowering our self-esteem. It can be very discouraging when people unfollow you or stop liking your pictures but that is no reason to give up on what we love- traveling! As we continue to make videos, our goal is to make them for ourselves and not worry so much about what the "critics" say. Just do you, boo! Traveling doesn't have to be expensive. We have looked to other travel accounts for inspiration and the majority of them feature global travels. As amazing and beautiful as those accounts are, they aren't necessarily realistic. We wanted to create something that everyday people can relate to, not just those who have the time and money to travel the world. The majority of our travels are local (we also have vlogs featuring our solo travels) to encourage others to look in their own community for new adventures! Traveling doesn't have to be costly and we hope to continue to spread that message. Don't be camera shy. At first it was very strange to vlog in public, especially in crowded areas. What we have come to learn is that vlogging in public isn't something to be embarrassed about! In fact, we will probably never see those people again so who cares if they give us funny looks while talking to a camera? Our best vlogs are the ones where we don't care about who is watching so learning to be vulnerable has been a challenge but also highly rewarding. Success doesn't happen overnight. It is easy to think that all YouTubers gain a million followers in the span of a few days but that is not at all realistic. We are still struggling with the fact that we don't have as many followers as we'd like but we also know that we are attracting a new audience with every video that we make. Just like singers and actors and many other successful careers, it takes time to get going. Hopefully we can one day have thousands of followers because after all, slow and steady wins the race! So here's to many more years of M&T Travels! Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past year- we can't wait to see what the next year brings! -m&t
0 Comments
1/31/2019 1 Comment bringing country to chicagoI love country music, as does Taylor! But the one thing we're missing in Chicago is Broadway...not the Broadway in New York with amazing productions, but Broadway in Nashville with bright lights and a whole lotta country music. So we take advantage of every opportunity to see our favorite country stars when they make a tour stop in Chicago. Here's a few of my top country music singers: neXT FROM NASHVILLE1. Jackie Lee "No, I'm not a girl and no, I'm not Asian." That's how Jackie Lee started his set when we first saw him. Taylor and I had the opportunity to see Jackie Lee at LakeShake and he captured our attention from the beginning! He has a great voice and will definitely make it big in the country world one day. Some of our favorite songs include Leave the Light On, Comeback, and Getting Over You. 2. Adam Doleac Another one of our LakeShake favorites! Adam Doleac has more of a Brett Eldredge style voice, so if you're into slower country songs you should definitely check out his music! Some of my favorites are Bigger Than Us, Whiskey's Fine, and Puzzle of Us. 3. Waterloo Revival While I've never seen them in concert, I would love to see Waterloo Revival headline their own show one day! I found them on Spotify and their music is sooooo catchy! Many of their songs are upbeat and they are more of a pop country group. Some of my favorite songs are Wonder Woman, What Guy Wouldn't (such a jam), Front Row, and Backwood Bump. 4. Morgan Evans Morgan Evans is a one man band, literally. He is from Australia and his band did not move with him to the US so he gets on stage with his guitar and plays the night away! Morgan Evans currently has one song on the radio, Kiss Somebody, but has so many other amazing songs including Day Drunk, Young Again, American, I Do, Dance With Me, and Things That We Drink To. OUTSTANDING OPENERS1. Chris Lane If you know me, you know that I LOVE Chris Lane! I've seen him twice now and he puts on an amazing show! He isn't very "country" making his songs available to both pop and country stations. I could listen to Chris Lane all day long and never get sick of his voice so here are a few of my favorite songs: Cool, I Don't Know About You, Fix, Fishin', and For Her. Honestly they're all so good so you can't go wrong! And he's dating Lauren Bushnell from The Bachelor soooo that's another plus. 2. Lanco You're probably sick of hearing this buttttt WE LOVE LANCO! I've seen Lanco three times and I can honestly say that they are one of my favorite bands of all time. They have more of a pop vibe as well but their songs will be stuck in your head for days because they're so good! Their energy is electric and their voices are heavenly so that makes them a win in my book. Their whole album is amazing, but my favorite songs are Middle of the Night, Greatest Love Story, and Long Live Tonight. 3. Brett Young Just to give you an idea, I cried when listening to Brett Young's newest album Ticket to LA. I've seen Brett Young open for Lady Antebellum and am SO excited to see him at LakeShake this year! Many of his songs are slow but they are sooooo good and make you want to cry tears of joy/sadness/pain/love and any other emotion you could feel while listening to music. I love Here Tonight, Sleep Without You, Chapters, and In Case You Didn't Know. 4. Brett Eldredge Did you know that Brett Eldredge went to Elmhurst College?! That's right by Chicago! I've seen Brett Eldredge twice and he is an amazing performer! Plus his dog is super cute too:) Some of my favorites are Love Someone, Drunk on Your Love, Something' I'm Good At, and Beat of the Music. 5. Russell Dickerson I have never seen anyone as energetic as Russell Dickerson! He is a true performer and has a great voice! He is another pop country singer but his songs will definitely turn your frown upside down! My favorites include MGNO, Blue Tacoma, Every Little Thing, and Yours. But again, all of his songs are soooo good! 6. Old Dominion Again, what am amazing group! Not only do they write songs but can perform like they're pros (because they basically are). I saw Old Dominion for the second time on my birthday and it was a great show! Even my mom, who isn't a big country music fan, said she would go see them again! Now that's saying something. They have a good mix of up-beat and slow songs but some of my all time favorites are One Man Band, Make it Sweet, Written in the Sand, and Not Everything's About You. 7. Dan + Shay While I've never seen Dan + Shay live, it is definitely on my bucket list! Their vocals are so good and when they sing certain harmonies I get chills all over. Their first ever headlining tour sold out within days so they are definitely climbing the ladder in the country world! Some of my favorites include Tequila, Speechless, All to Myself, Road Trippin', and How Not To. 8. Dustin Lynch Not only is Dustin Lynch an amazing singer, but he has a VLOG!!! Nothing is better than finding an artist who shares a love for vlogging! I am so excited to see Dustin Lynch for the first time this year because I absolutely love his music (and YouTube channel, of course). He has so many great songs but some of my top picks are Small Town Boy, Good Girl, I'd Be Jealous Too, and Where It's At. READY TO TAKE THE MAIN STAGE1. Luke Bryan Post concert depression has never hit me so hard as it did when leaving Luke Bryan's concert. I will be seeing him for a third time at LakeShake this year and he never disappoints! He has so much energy when performing and gets the crowd going no matter what time of day. He has so many hits but my favorites are County Girl (Shake it For Me), Rain is a Good Thing, Play It Again, What Makes You Country, and That's My Kind Of Night. 2. Florida Georgia Line FGL has some very country songs but also very pop songs so they are definitely one of the more popular crossover artists. We saw them at LakeShake for the first time in 2018 and it was amazing! All of their songs are so easy to dance to and scream the lyrics to with the rest of the crowd. There isn't a FGL song I don't like but my favorites are definitely Talk You Out Of It, This Is How We Roll, Simple, May We All, and Cruise. 3. Thomas Rhett I could go on and on and on and on about Thomas Rhett...he is hands down my favorite country singer. There is not a song I don't like and his stage presence deserves every award on this planet and he is just amazingggg! I don't even know if I have a favorite TR song because they're all so good, but here are some that I think you would like: Life Changes, Make Me Wanna, Like It's The Last Time, Leave Right Now, Marry Me, and Die a Happy Man. As you can see I love country music, especially these fifteen artists! If you have any song/artist recommendations, be sure to leave a comment down below!
~mary 1/25/2019 0 Comments Living inside the college bubbleDay four of semester two... it's officially the one hundredth and twenty second day since I first moved to Lawrence, Kansas this past August. Moving eight hours away from good ole Chicago was both the toughest and most rewarding decision I have made. You always hear family and friends say how the college days are the best days of your life. I have only been here approximately eighteen weeks now, but I already know that these next few years are going to amount to the "best days of my life." For those of you who don't know, I am surviving and thriving at the University of Kansas, and although I am a tad biased, KU is one of the greatest universities in the nation (except maybe behind my bestie's school). It is home of not only a pretty good basketball team and my favorite mascot, Baby Jay, but also of the greatest sunsets in the Midwest and of the friendliest people. Oh, and of course, I get the perk of having the "Kansas calfs" from walking up and down Daisy Hill at least six times a day (wait till you all see me in the summer, I am going to be killing the calf game). Everything is amazing about school, and even though I came to KU knowing no one except my amazing roommate that I had known for approximately two months, I have met so many friends and people who are so supportive and kind. One of the things that has shocked me the most about moving out to go to school is that here at school, you are in a little bubble. I know, I know, it sounds so strange, but really, living here is like living in a bubble - a large bubble that holds 28,000 students. Sometimes I will be walking back from the gym after a hard workout and just admire the campus from the top of Daisy Hill and think about how lucky I am, but also about how this whole beautiful campus is where I spend 99% of my days. I rarely ever leave campus unless I am going back home to Chicago or taking a quick trip to the store to get pizza rolls. Even then though, we only stay on the same road, good ole Iowa Street. Everything is at my fingertips here at KU. Hungry? I walk two minutes to the dining hall to already prepared food. Tired? I head to my dorm for a quick nap and Friends marathon. Feeling lazy? I walk to the gym. Bored? I walk five feet to the left to visit my friends in the room two doors down. Everything is right here in this bubble. As stereotypical as it sounds, college is really this little stepping stone between teen years and adulthood. You're not an adult yet, but soon enough you will figure it out. I'm sure when you think of college, a bubble probably doesn't come to mind, but for me, it is a good bubble - a bubble of security, support, love, and happiness that has taught me so much about who I am and who I want to be. So going off of that, here are a few things I have learned throughout my first semester here at KU about "being adult...ish" "someone please help me do laundry"This makes me look really dumb and you know what, I totally embrace it. When I came to college, I did not know how to do laundry...weird flex but okay LOL. I never had to at home, and even when I was preparing to leave home during the months prior to move in day, I never felt the need to learn or even try to do it on my own...HUGE mistake. But you know what?! I learned! No, this is not just a paragraph about me being a laundry baby. This is about becoming independent. Before coming to KU, not going to lie, I relied heavily on others whenever I had a problem. I would turn to others for help and guidance. Living without my parents and sister was a change, and I didn't have them to turn to as soon as I had an issue like what to set the water temperature to on the washer (okay I did call my mom but that's besides the point). My roommate was the one who really helped me find my own independence. She straight up told me she wouldn't help me with my laundry because I had to learn on my own. She is the honesty and support I need in my life, as she tells me EXACTLY what I need to hear. She has helped me adjust to living without my sister and friends from home, do things for myself, and be confident in myself. Everyone get yourself a roomie who can be your biggest supporter and also your truth-teller. I have learned how to be independent because of these little baby steps I have been taking, and now, I can confidently say I can do my own laundry with minimal help. But on top of that, I am not scared to be living on my own (partially) and I have found myself being more confident in my own skills. "why in the world are you wearing shorts...in december?!"Yes, I did and still do wear shorts...a lot...even when it is slightly cold out. I choose to come to KU for many reasons, but one factor was that it is about 15 degrees warmer here than in Chicago. So SURPRISE! I WEAR SHORTS! When I left home, one of the benefits but also downsides is that no one is there to tell you to do things. Yes, this is super nice for aspects such as cleaning your room (thx mom) and doing chores such as folding clothes or emptying the dishwasher and for being home by curfew, but your mom also isn't there to tell you to do other things that you have to figure out on your own. No one is here to tell you to wear a winter coat or put away the shorts once and for all. This new freedom is so exciting and new, yet I have learned that it comes with its own new responsibilities when it comes to making decisions. "hey!"Hey. Hello. Hi. Bonjour. Hola. The beginning of any conversation. I came to school knowing NO ONE. When I came for move in day, every face was unfamiliar. Even for me, who is someone who is very outgoing and personable, it was just a tad scary. I had left all my friends and family at home, and I was kind of alone, or at least I thought I was. This feeling maybe lasted half a millisecond, as I quickly learned the trick to making friends and meeting people - Hey. This is such a small word, but a very necessary one. It was the way I could get to know people. Within a day of being at KU, I had already made lots of friends, whether they were people at the dining hall, our dorm neighbors, mandatory meeting friends, and even just my roommates. Yes, I still miss home and my friends ALL THE TIME. But I also have found so many new friends here. I have met people from all different places with all different stories. The students here have come from all over to join this Jayhawk family, and it continues to surprise me and overjoy me when I meet people from different places with all different types of adventures and experiences. Here at KU, we have the charismatic Kansas people. We have all the Minnesota nice friends. We have the ChicAAAAgo peeps, (yes, people do think I say Chicago weird). We have the amazingly cool skiers from Colorado. We have the southern sweet Texans and Nebraskanians. We have the kind souls of St. Louis. We have the sweetest girl ever from North Carolina. And I have even met a friendly eskimo from a great cold place called North Dakota (who would have thought North Dakota actually existed!). These are just a few of the amazing people I have met, and I hope to continue to meet even more people and hear their stories as the years go on. so i guess that's that!College is a huge step in life, and is where I have learned so much about myself. I have learned that I forget something in my dorm approximately 99% of the times when I leave the room. I have learned what an amazing experience it is to live with three perfect roommates from all over the country (they actually are the greatest of all time I'm sorry for stealing them away from everyone else). I have learned I really need to expand my taste buds or else I am going to be living off chicken and cheese and rice my whole life. I have learned to be grateful for my life here and my life back in Chicago, for both my homes. And most importantly, I have learned that adulting...ish is not that hard when you have amazing people to support you along the way. Oh and always remember...rock chalk ;) - t of m&t
1/11/2019 0 Comments What is thriving on a dime?As college students, we often times find ourselves trying to save money...."try" being the key word. We want to be able to travel the world and experience life but it is hard when living away from home comes with so many added expenses. Our idea for naming this blog "Thriving on a Dime" comes from our experiences of trying to go on adventures without spending a lot of money. If you've seen any of our vlogs you know that out slogan has basically become "we're thriving," hence the blog name. But living life to the fullest doesn't have to be expensive! Simply going to a local lake or forest preserve and walking around is one of the best ways to get out and explore nature without spending a dime! On this blog you will find many of our adventures, both big and small, while away at college and at home enjoying life. So here's to a new adventure (blogging) and the adventures we have yet to discover!
|
ArchivesCategories |