Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexa Jo Schafer
Hi Alexa Jo, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi! I’m Alexa, I’m 25, and a few years ago, I launched “Lila”(lee-lah), a blog, podcast, and host of community events. I dream of traveling the world, writing novels, and talking about real-life stuff.
I started writing as a teenager to cope with some of the things I was going through. I struggled with mental health since a young age, and writing helped me process everything I was feeling. I started sharing it publicly in high school, posting poems and journals on VSCO, and then joining the newspaper club at school. I wrote for HerCampus in college and even got a scholarship to study abroad in Italy due to a piece of writing I had submitted. In that essay, I wrote about how I never thought travel was something I hadn’t seen myself doing a lot. Whether it was money, mental health, or finding someone to do it with me. I really thought studying abroad was my chance! But then I got sent home after a few weeks due to a global pandemic (you know the one). I promised myself I’d go back someday.
A few years ago I hit a really low space mentally. I was in a dark depression and didn’t see myself getting out. I started spiraling further and further. I was losing myself, people, and this life I had, one element at a time. Those were the hardest months of my life. I watched my world crumble. Truthfully, I didn’t think I’d make it through. But I did!
I found something that gave me a shred of hope: seeing the world. A big thing that got me through it was this dream to go adventure. I wanted to go back to Europe and go on all the trips I had planned for that semester abroad. I wanted to live in Hawaii and learn to surf. I wanted to go solo travel. I thought maybe if I went to see other worlds and met people from all around the world, I’d find purpose. After graduating college, I went on my first solo backpacking trip. Since then, I’ve done a lot. I went to Europe, Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Australia, back to Europe, Mexico, and now I’m moving to Australia! It has completely changed my life.
When I was in a tough spot, I needed a survival guide. I needed to know someone else had made it through. and not only made it through but went on to create a beautiful, full life. Now I have this blog and a traveling podcast, I’ve hosted events, and I’m writing my first novel!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
haha, it has most definitely not been smooth. I think any time you choose a creative path, it comes with struggles. It’s not as straightforward or secure, and you really have to push through. It’s tough to keep putting hours and hours into something without knowing if anything will ever come of it. And all of that is not even to mention the technical learning of designing my website, social media, podcast equipment and editing, and the countless hours in tech support chats.
When you put your all into things and don’t get much engagement or feedback, it can feel like a failure. Thoughts of maybe I’m not doing the right thing or maybe I need to “get real” float around in my head. Look, I’m not naive to the fact that it’s not entirely realistic to continue to live my life the way I do. I go on solo backpacking adventures for months on end and then come back to Minnesota for a few months, wait tables, just to leave again, all while trying to write a book, post on a blog, host and produce a podcast, post to my social media pages in hopes of gaining some eyes… I know that a lot of people might think I should “get serious” and find a job that offers me some health insurance or a 401k, and sometimes I convince myself of that, too! but I see the value in what I’m doing. I’m not ready to give up on it. I know this will help someone the way I’ve needed help before. I’m creating a beautiful life for myself, no matter what it takes, and that’s always been the goal.
But I don’t know. I just always trust my gut, and even though sometimes I feel stupid, when it comes down to it, I do believe in myself and think this is what I’m meant for. Maybe I won’t get a slammin’ book deal and become a New York Times bestselling author this year, but I’ll keep working on my novels. I’ll get it someday. I trust it will happen when it’s my time.
There have been struggles, but I know someday I’ll look back and it will all make sense.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Okay yay! I do a couple of things. I have a blog, podcast, and social media where I talk about mental health, solo travel, social causes, and lessons in life. I know it’s a lot of “niches” but they all intertwine in my work so I really couldn’t narrow it down. Reflecting on my life and lessons I’ve learned is how I got started writing in the first place, then I started writing and posting honestly about my mental health struggles. My struggles with mental health really lit the fire under me to go travel, and seeing the world really showed me so many social issues and why it’s important to care. I’m constantly reflecting and learning and trying to grow, which brings me back to lessons I’ve learned in life. So I can’t write about one without diving into the other.
Throughout the past few years, I’ve focused on mindfulness and being very present. Over and over again I experienced this very specific feeling, but I didn’t have a name for it. I felt it when I hosted people in my space. I felt it when I was in a group of people I clicked with. I felt it when I was alone in my room even. It just felt so happy, so warm, so comfortable. Like I didn’t want it to ever end. These moments, where I just stopped interacting and fully devoted myself to being present and observing the people around me, are like experiencing a memory while you’re living it. It is wholehearted contentedness, peace, warmth, and joy. It’s the moments that make you sit back and think, ahh this is what life is all about.
As I began to explore this feeling more and recognized it as it repeated itself, I wanted to be able to have a name for it. So, I made one up. As I was naming my blog and reflecting on these moments, I decided that the name for both of those things should be the same. Because it’s those moments that inspire me to write. It’s those moments where I reflect on everything I have experienced in life, the good and the bad, and how if just one of those things didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be in that space, with those people, at that moment, experiencing that joy. It’s about recognizing and appreciating the butterfly effect, really. Hence, Lila was born.
The podcast came about when I kept meeting super cool people while traveling and would have conversations that made me think EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THIS PERSON’S STORY. We’d get into these deep conversations and all of a sudden I’d feel so connected to this person that grew up in a completely different country. I realized three things. 1. people all around the world are more alike than we think. 2. I want other people to hear this conversation 3. THIS IS WHY I LOVE SOLO TRAVELING
I, of course, will always tell people to book the flight and go. but I also recognize it’s not that simple. There are a lot of factors that can keep people from traveling. So I got to thinking, how can I bring travel to people?
I could post pictures and videos on social media, yeah. I could write blog posts with itineraries and guides, yeah. But what I could do that would be different from other travel creators is bring that very special element of connecting with people from all over the world.
So I started asking people I met traveling to be guests on my podcast and then my people from home had really good things to say too. So now I just have new guests on each week. It’s a traveling podcast!
I started dabbling in events as well. I hosted a big clothing swap with my friends, where I turned my house into a boutique. I gave a little presentation about throwaway-trendy-consumerism and the importance of being mindful of where your things go. I then donated about 18 bags of clothes to local organizations where homeless teens can shop for free and sent a few bags off to textile recycling as well. People made friends and had a great time, and my friends still talk about it whenever they wear a piece they got from that event.
I’m really proud of creating everything myself. I’m proud of the work I’ve done. and I’m proud that I’m going after what I believe to be right for me.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Yes! First, I would love to connect if they find my work from this article. and second, that I have Lila definition cards. I give them out for people to keep in their wallets. The idea is that when someone is experiencing a “lila moment,” they take that card out and take a picture of it in the scene. That way, they can recall those moments when they need them. I also love when people post them on their stories and tag me with #lilamoment, and I will repost. You can message me through the contact form on my website if you’d like one.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lilabyalexajo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilabyalexajo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilabyalexajo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD8O9Y0gheBzt44r_vxwBzQ
- Other: https://rss.com/podcasts/thelilapod
