Hello! I’m Courtney, 23 years young and I have lived in Las Vegas my whole life. I even went to college at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and graduated with a degree in communication and another in marketing. So what am I doing with my two college degrees? I’m a bartender on the Las Vegas strip. While bartending has never been my dream job, I am very lucky and grateful that it allows me to afford a living and take time off to travel. While Sin City will always be home to me, I have always loved to travel.

I would say I owe my love for traveling to my mom. The woman who first stuck me on airplane by myself at age five to go visit my grandma. The same woman who planned the coolest family vacations when I was growing up, which included overnight train rides to visit numerous countries in Europe, staying in a tree house in Oregon, and having me get on a snowboard for the first time in the Rocky Mountains. She never batted an eye when I told her I would be going to Germany with a coworker I barely knew, to stay with a family I had never met, or when I told her I was going to South Korea when North Korean and American relations had never been more intense.

My mom is also the reason my vacations are not what most people would consider relaxing. For as long as I can remember she has wanted to do everything and see everything she possibly could in a new city. She passed that on to me and I’m sure I can vouch for my travel companions when I say I’m a handful to deal with. I’ve had friends yell at me in Ireland for opening up their blinds to let the sun in and trying to get them moving when they’re not done sleeping yet. My best friend refused to continue to ride bikes with me in the humid summer of Chicago after seven miles of sweating. With a tour group in Peru, when they gave us “chill” days I was bummed. I love hiking up to an unforgettable view or snorkeling in the clearest water. I spend every winter snowboarding and every summer trying to get better at surfing. Even if I’m in Vegas most days I’m hiking, taking a yoga class, or at the gym.

Another thing I’m really into is sports. Doesn’t matter what sporting event it is, I’m usually enjoying it. My family is really big into sports and, exciting for us, Vegas is finally getting major league sports teams. Welcome, Vegas Golden Knights and the Raiders!! I love traveling, especially throughout the states to watch sporting events. I’ll road trip over to Los Angeles to catch a Dodgers game or wake up at 4:30 am to watch the World Cup games.

I’m starting this blog to document all my adventures and to hold myself more accountable for achieving my goals. Just because I have graduated school doesn’t mean I’m done learning. I still want to see and do so much. I want to learn a new language, get a work visa to live in a different country, make so many more more friends abroad. Gains Gone Global is a platform to share my cultural, spiritual, and physical* gains in Vegas and throughout the world. I would love if you joined my journey!

*You may think physical gains means getting fit, but I’m a hardcore foodie. I live to eat so it could easily end up being my gains around my stomach. haha