You must have seen the movie Queen starring Kangana Ranaut. As the movie plot unfolds, we see that she goes on a solo honeymoon trip to find herself after her fiancé leaves her stranded at the wedding altar. But, that was reel world. We introduce you to the real life Queen, Katy Collins and her journey of self-discovery and accidental success, as some may say.
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Katy was left heartbroken by her fiancé a month before her wedding some four years ago; however, that did not stop her from making the most of the rest of her life. She realised that it was a much needed wake-up call for her to change her lifestyle entirely and go for something bigger and better for herself. This is what she had to say about her broken relationship:
"His decision, although devastating at the time, was the wake-up call I needed. I had a good job, a lovely house and lived a comfortable lifestyle but it lacked adventure”
And, what she did next can only be done by the bravehearts. Instead of wallowing in grief and devouring on comfort foods, Katy Collins quit her job, sold her home and car, and bought a one-way ticket to travel as far away from home as possible!
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In an interview with Manchester Evening Reviews, Katy said:
“At the time I felt heartbroken, confused and a little disillusioned about what I was going to do with my life. But I just decided I wanted to go travelling. Everyone did think I was a little mad especially as I’d never travelled anywhere by myself before but it just felt right.”
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She started documenting her travel stories on her blog NotWedOrDead mainly to update her family and friends about her soul-searching experiences and whereabouts. Gradually her blog’s readership grew and started receiving messages from people all across the globe.
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According to Katy:
“People who weren't related to me started reading my blog and sending me emails, telling me how brave I was to quit it all and go.”
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No wonder her inspirational blog was shortlisted for Cosmopolitan’s Best Travel Blog award for 2015. With growing popularity of the blog, she eventually began writing a novel. She says:
“I started writing a few chapters, not fully aware that they would be the start of a novel but mostly as a way to clear my head.”
Her life turned 360 degrees and her childhood dream of becoming a writer came true when she was contacted by Carina UK, a digital publisher under world-renowned publisher Harper Collins. She secured a three-book deal with them. At that time she was living in a small fishing town in northern France!
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She has travelled far and wide to countries like Thailand, South America, India, Nepal, Greece. And before turning 30, as her Facebook posts suggests she has covered 30 countries! Now not all of her travels were alone. In France she fell in love with a man who taught her French and joined her in some of the travels including Chile. However, things did not move forward and they parted amicably. One of the reasons she quotes is:
“I wasn’t ready for something serious. I’m not sure I will ever completely trust anyone again. Being jilted at the altar was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I have climbed an active volcano in Chile, slept in a Thai jungle, got covered in Holi paint in India, skydived in France, and even taken a flight past Mount Everest. I have experienced things that I would never have dreamed possible but the highlight is being able to call myself a writer. Nothing compares to that.”
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Well, if this woman does not inspire you to go live your dreams, then we don’t know what will!