{"id":1598389,"date":"2020-05-19T12:12:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T16:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/?p=1598389"},"modified":"2020-06-21T17:08:19","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T21:08:19","slug":"womeninspiringwomen-natalie-preddie-travel-writer-and-tv-personality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/en\/womeninspiringwomen-natalie-preddie-travel-writer-and-tv-personality\/","title":{"rendered":"#WomenInspiringWomen: Natalie Preddie, Travel Writer and TV Personality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natalie Preddie is a Mum to two beautiful boys and expecting her third child.\u00a0 She has visited more than 30 countries leaving behind a secure job to pursue her passion for travel.\u00a0 She is a well-known travel writer with her own blog, The Adventures of Natty P & Co<\/strong><\/a> where she shares stories of solo travel, travel with her husband Mark and family travel with her little boys.\u00a0 An in-demand journalist, she has written for The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and CAA to name just a few publications.\u00a0 Natalie makes regular appearances as a travel and lifestyle expert on shows including Your Morning, The Morning Show, Cityline and CHCH Morning Live.<\/p>\n

Times are challenging for travel writers and for the travel industry due to COVID-19.\u00a0 To motivate herself and inspire others, she is launching her own IGTV show<\/a>, \u201cMom\u2019s in Reel Life\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0 Natalie will interview some of the women that she admires and has worked with in the media world.\u00a0 As we were talking, Natalie patiently took questions from another little interviewer \u2013 her oldest son Charlie.\u00a0 She is refreshingly candid and authentic, and tells it like it is and she is our latest #WomenInspiringWomen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Natalie<\/p>\n

You left your role in PR to pursue your passion for travel and bringing those stories to Canadians.\u00a0 What made you decide to take what can only be described as a leap of faith?<\/h3>\n

I wasn\u2019t happy and had a complete mental breakdown.\u00a0 I knew that I needed to change something in my life.\u00a0 Travel has always been something that fueled me in the past.\u00a0 Telling stories and connecting and getting people excited about travel always excited me.\u00a0 So, I stopped working in PR and did it.\u00a0 Of course, I couldn\u2019t have done it without my husband Mark.\u00a0 We both had to make a decision that this was going to be something that I was going to pursue.\u00a0 When you are with someone, you are in a partnership and this was something that he had to be on board with.\u00a0 It was scary at first not having a full-time income, but we just knew for the happiness and mental health of both myself and consequently our partnership, it had to happen.<\/p>\n

Traveling solo can be scary for many people.\u00a0 Once we are able to travel again, what should people know about traveling solo?<\/h3>\n

Use common sense and trust your gut.\u00a0 Don\u2019t put yourself into situations that you wouldn\u2019t put yourself in at home.\u00a0 Add that extra level of caution if you are in a place that you don\u2019t know.\u00a0 When you are traveling solo, you have more freedom to go with the flow, so really embrace that.\u00a0 I know that when I traveled solo, when it came to a meal, I would sometimes try to find someone to have dinner with that I had never met before.\u00a0 Maybe I met them randomly and just asked, while being clear that I am married.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s fun and part of traveling is learning about people, what they do and what their lives are like.<\/p>\n

Allow yourself to be more curious, to wander a little bit more and give yourself that time to enjoy the surroundings.\u00a0 Just make sure that you make smart decisions and use common sense.\u00a0 If that road looks a little dodgy and it\u2019s getting close to sunset, don\u2019t take it.<\/p>\n

You have traveled extensively, including some dangerous places like Nigeria.\u00a0 That was a work trip, but how did you cope with being in a place where there are often safety advisories?<\/h3>\n

I was filming a project with the BBC and Nollywood [Nigeria\u2019s version of Hollywood]. It again came down to common sense.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t put myself into situations that I was not comfortable with and I followed my gut.\u00a0 If it didn\u2019t feel right to me, I wasn\u2019t going to go there.\u00a0 I was living in England at the time, so I stay in touch with family and friends there and in Canada.\u00a0 It was to keep people up to date and it made us all feel better and it gave some accountability to the people that I was with as well knowing that I was constantly in touch.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t there completely solo, and had people looking out for me, but when there is a cast and crew, it\u2019s easy to get lost. It\u2019s about making the right decisions.\u00a0 Being able to explore, but knowing your boundaries. \u00a0If you are in a new area, you are going to feel a little uncomfortable because it is something new, which is fine.\u00a0 If you are with a group, it\u2019s also about being able to say, this is enough, I don\u2019t want to go any further.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You have been refreshingly candid about having PCOS to your pregnancy journey to your youngest son\u2019s health scares on \u201cThe Adventures of Natty P\u201d and in your TV appearances.\u00a0 Why did you decide to be so open and share your story?<\/h3>\n

There are lots of women going through the same experience. We spend so much time hiding in guilt, shame or just the ignorance of not knowing that there are other people that think like us.\u00a0 It was important to me, for other people to know that I went through this too.\u00a0 There were situations in my life where I wished I had known someone that that was going through the same thing.\u00a0 I never want someone to feel completely alone.<\/p>\n

There are expectations, especially with social media, and that\u2019s why I like posting real life.\u00a0 Kids have tantrums<\/a> on planes, and no one has written about that nightmare tantrum and how awful it is.\u00a0 There are times when I want to show real life and I want to see more of people being authentic.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s why women like Chrissy Teigen are so popular.\u00a0 She showed what two days postpartum looks like.\u00a0 She was wearing a diaper and she\u2019s candid.\u00a0 Chrissy Teigen said that women who come back three days later looking amazing have a trainer, a stylist and a nutritionist. Normal people are not like that.\u00a0 That authenticity is often lacking in our \u201crole models\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0I like that she\u2019s different, not afraid to be different and speak her mind. She\u2019s lucky that she has the platform to do it.<\/p>\n

Why did you decide to create \u201cMoms in Reel Life\u201d?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve been working more and more in TV the past few years and I meet so many fantastic women who are bringing us the news.\u00a0 They are becoming moms or are moms and throughout this whole pandemic, they have been going into work and physically distancing.\u00a0 But they are doing their jobs and telling these stories, as emotional as they have been, and are still being parents.\u00a0 Both of those jobs are really tough.<\/p>\n

I was sitting at home, with this lack of motivation and doing a bit of \u201cOh woe is me.\u201d Then, I was like, wait a second, if this is how I\u2019m feeling and dealing with two kids and a now limited presence on TV, how are these women focusing?\u00a0 How are these women who are very much responsible for how we get our news and information doing it?\u00a0 The burden on them is that much greater.\u00a0 Not only are they looking after their families, they are looking after the general public and what does that feel like?\u00a0 I wanted to talk to them to find out.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t ask, how will you ever know? So, I asked, and these women are excited to talk about it and I\u2019m excited to tell their stories on a bigger stage.<\/p>\n

What life lessons will you take away from the pandemic?<\/h3>\n

Slow down.\u00a0 Prioritize my family.\u00a0 I was brought up as a Seventh Day Adventist and from Friday night to Saturday night was the Sabbath, and we only did things as a family.\u00a0 We\u2019d go for church, and our family would go out for a walk \u00a0\u00a0There was no one else, it was just us doing things together.\u00a0 It was our dedicated time.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize how important that was and how much it shaped our family and how we connect with one another now, and I want that for my kids.<\/p>\n

Now, we have nowhere else to go and have this dedicated time.\u00a0 There is no one else around and no one else involved \u2013 it\u2019s just focused on our family.\u00a0 We were just packing our schedule and I don\u2019t want to do that.\u00a0 I want to make sure that we have that time that is just focused on us and nothing else.\u00a0 That will give us the bond that families should have.<\/p>\n

\"Natalie<\/p>\n

Who is your inspiration?<\/h3>\n

I feel like there are different women that I look to in different aspects of my life and what part of my life that I am looking at.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s being a mother, being a writer.\u00a0 On a more local scale Heather Greenwood Davis is amazing.\u00a0 She trained as a lawyer but always had this need to travel.\u00a0 One day, she decided to quit law and become a travel writer.\u00a0 She has been an editor for National Geographic and took her kids around the world.\u00a0 That sort of bravery is inspiring.<\/p>\n

Obviously, my mother with her drive, her strength and ability to pick up and keep going, even if she got hit, time and time again.\u00a0 She was a principal and tended to work in tough schools.\u00a0 She ended up taking on a lot of people\u2019s problems, taking on the roles of teacher, social worker, manager and grief counselor.\u00a0 We would have kids come to stay with us between foster care and adoption.\u00a0 She made a decision one day in her life that she was going to change the way she existed and take back power that she had given away for years.\u00a0 She took on this big role in the community helping people.\u00a0 We always had people at Christmas that weren\u2019t part of our family that had nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n

Both of my parents were big on inclusion and made us focus on being the best person that we could possibly be.\u00a0 That rubbed off on me and made me correctly take inspiration from people that have those same qualities.\u00a0 Women that I look up to have a lot of the same qualities that my parents do.\u00a0 You look at someone like Michele Obama, and she has her eye on the prize.<\/p>\n

Nathania Harrison \u00a0used to run the Nike\u2019s Women\u2019s Department in Canada. She decided one day, that she wanted to find a way to be happier and she created Well and Tight,<\/strong> which is a community that I am part of.\u00a0 She has been so inspiring and I have come so far knowing her.\u00a0 Nathania is relatable and she is working through things too, so it\u2019s not like she\u2019s on a pedestal. She just resonates strength and vulnerability. She is a good reflection of what we all are as women.<\/p>\n

I have found inspiration within my community with people that I work and interact with.\u00a0 \u00a0It makes me think about those qualities in myself.\u00a0 When my Mom turned 50, she had a realization, is it worth the battle?\u00a0 It\u2019s about how it\u2019s going to serve my greater purpose and applying life lessons to that.\u00a0 There are women who inspire us in different parts of our lives, and as we change, so will our inspiration.<\/p>\n

As a mother who has a busy and fulfilling career, what advice do you have for other mothers out there?<\/h3>\n

Know when to ask for help and be OK with asking.\u00a0 Decide what is worth the fight.\u00a0 Know that you are stronger than you think and that you can do difficult things.\u00a0 Think of what we as women do from getting our period, to giving birth and going through menopause \u2013 biologically, we go through a lot.\u00a0 There is something new that tests me every day and I\u2019m stronger than I think.\u00a0 We all are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natalie Preddie is a Mum to two beautiful boys and expecting her third child.\u00a0 She has visited more than 30 countries leaving behind a secure job to pursue her passion…<\/div>\n
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