Creator Spotlight: Daisy Louise Carter

Daisy has been a creator on Vocal for quite some time now and every time, her stories have inspired us to be more adventurous and brave in unexpected ways. Whether she's talking about dreamy getaways or unique experiences, her stories are always a good way to take a mental break—something that we could certainly use, especially now. We wanted to learn some more about what inspires her travels and mindset so we got to chat with her and ask her some questions. Read below for her Creator Spotlight.

On who she is:

Hi, my name’s Daisy and I’m 24 years old… I actually left this section for last, am I the only one who hates writing about themselves? I never thought I would finish university, but here I am with a degree in teaching, amazing memories and a destroyed liver.

I’d say I’m pretty ordinary. I have good days where I feel like I can take on the world, eat well and workout. I have bad days where I eat a shit tonne of food, cry for no reason and don’t get out of bed. Sometimes, I make up excuses to leave events early because I’d rather be watching Netflix. I’m currently addicted to a really shit game on my phone that is taking up a lot of time I could be using to be productive.

Oh, and on my first day of travelling solo, I fell out of a tree and ended up having 16 stitches in my leg. This was when I found out in Singapore, McDonalds delivered to the hospital!

On where she comes from:

I’d never really thought of anywhere as ‘home’ before I went travelling. I absolutely hated England and was desperate to get out. After travelling, I actually learned to love my country more. I miss the food (even though it’s all brown and carby), I miss the cute country houses and the grubby little pubs. Growing up, I lived in loads of different places, I’ve not really lived in one place long enough to call it home.

On how she found her passion for travel:

My dad took me backpacking when I was a toddler. By backpacking, I mean I was literally in his backpack! Obviously, there’s very little that I remember about this time but somehow, I feel like it’s in my blood. My dad obviously supported me and wanted me to travel so I was fortunate. Solo travel was never NOT an option.

I was shitting myself about traveling solo. I desperately wanted to travel, but I didn’t want to go alone. As all my friends started to flake out on me (as the story goes), I thought I could be waiting around forever so I drank a few vodkas and booked a one-way flight. When I started having all of these incredible experiences, I knew people needed to follow in my footsteps. I learned to inspire myself to be able to inspire other people. If I could convince just ONE other person to travel solo through my writing, it served its purpose.

I guess it became my thing after I made my first travel friend. I went out to meet a German girl on my first day in Singapore. She’d been there longer than me, so sort-of set the standard. I realised how exciting and free travelling alone really was. It’s a special connection you feel with those people you meet while travelling. You just feel like you’ve known each other for years. You live life to the full with them, then you move on, leaving an imprint on each other's hearts.

On some tips to take the plunge and solo travel:

You will NEVER be alone. Well, unless you want to be. If more people realised this, they’d definitely go solo! There are so many people doing the same thing, so many people that want to party, so many people that want to stay in. There are people you’ll spend time with for weeks, and those you’ll see for days. You’ll connect with people on deeper levels. You’ll have mini romances. You’ll get sick of them and escape (maybe in the middle of the night, like me…) But I get it, the thought of being alone in a strange country is daunting. I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life, I know how easy it is to overthink it and scare yourself out of it. Solo travelling definitely improved my mental health. It also made me more of a reflective and patient person. You have a ‘so this is life’ moment and it just sorts your head out in a way.

On some of her favorite memories:

There are so many places I’ve visited that have exceeded my expectations! Myanmar is definitely one of those places. I was sceptical about visiting as there wasn’t really much information out there about whether it was safe or accessible. Myanmar is, by far, the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to. The accommodation is cute and cheap, the people are friendly and the food is incredible. I’m pretty sure I wrote about it somewhere…

On what she hopes for the future:

So I have the book ‘Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist’ and I’ve made it my goal to visit everywhere in the book. I’ve probably seen 10% of that, but I’m strong willed, I’ll get around to it.

Even though I’m a free spirited, independent woman and all that… I’m actually really looking forward to building a home one day. I’ve already started buying children’s books for my future babies (cringe!). Oh and a puppy, I really want a puppy.

These are certainly difficult times for traveling—Crazy times right?! So I started my working holiday visa in Australia before New Years. I desperately needed to earn some money and decided it would be way more fun to do so somewhere I haven’t travelled to yet. So here I am, 3 months into a job I never knew existed - teaching isolated children in the outback through ‘School of the Air’ (blog to follow). It’s now Easter break (and Autumn - weird!) so I’m taking some time to start blogging and working on myself again. I might even get a workout in, who knows?

On how she started documenting her experiences:

I’ve always written for academic reasons - school, college, university… I never really thought about writing for pleasure. When I went travelling for the first time, I started keeping a journal to remember all of the amazing things I did. One day, I let a travel buddy read over my shoulder and they were laughing hysterically. There were things that happened to me that you couldn’t make up… so I wrote for my friends. The support was amazing, so I started putting my words to good use and creating writing where people could laugh at my misfortunes, but also learn something new about travel!

As for my favorite story on Vocal, I'd say it's probably ‘Solo Travel for Women is not ‘Brave’’ simply because I remember the passion I felt when I wrote it. I think I was just having a bad day and some bloke messaged me ‘you’re so brave for travelling without a companion’ and I just lost my shit. Yes, bad things happen to women while travelling. But they also happen to women when they’re at home, on a night out, at work… It’s a harsh reality to face but it shouldn’t affect us gals making the life-changing decision to see the world and open our minds. Ladies, if a man does something to make you uncomfortable - you know where to hit them…

Don’t think about it—first thing that comes to mind:

What is one thing you couldn’t live without? My passport, obviously.

Cats or dogs? Dogs! I plan on going into the shelter as soon as I settle down and taking the dog that needs the most love! Always adopt, kids.

Favorite tropical destination? Indonesia. I lived there for 3 months to do my divemaster and I loved it so much even though I dislocated my knee dancing on a table...

What’s your go-to late night snack? P-p-p-pick up a penguin!

What are you currently binge watching? Game of Thrones… I never watched it until now!

If you could speak a new language, what would it be and why? I’ve always wanted to learn a new language. My dad’s kids are Austrian and my boyfriend is Swiss so it just makes sense to learn German!

Favorite story you read on Vocal by another creator? Anything travel related - always looking for inspiration for my next trip!

And there you have it! Thank you Daisy for sharing some more about yourself! If you'd like to keep up with her work, follow her on Instagram, and keep up with her stories on Vocal.