Meet Jessica Kameko Rooks | Family Travel Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Kameko Rooks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica Kameko, how do you think about risk?
Taking a risk means taking a chance, trying something, and the possibility of failing or succeeding. Taking a risk doesn’t scare me. Not knowing what could have been if I didn’t take the risk scares me more. One of my favorite sayings is “Nothing changes if nothing changes”. If I feel as if something isn’t working in my life and I’m unhappy how worse can it get if I take a chance to change the situation. Taking chances is one of the most crucial ways of helping to advance skills and gain experience.

Times in my growing career as a Travel Content Creator, I had stuck moments feeling as if I’m putting in intensive work with no outcome. In order to get out of that funk I would take the risk of stepping out of my comfort zone and trying things I’ve never done before. Risk that I took that helped me get to where I am now is reaching out to bigger content creators and brands for possible collaborations. Not being afraid to hear the word NO and being persistent is what helped my brand grow when landing big collaborations. Taking that risk to hear no multiple times is very discouraging. It makes you feel as if you are not worthy of a chance after hearing no multiple times. Having a positive mindset is what helped me persevere to continue trying new ways to reach out and meet the right people to get the kind of collaboration I needed for my growth.

For the next question. I’m not sure if it’s optional to answer in the article because it says there is someone you want to dedicate my shoutout to? During my journey, I never really had a mentor but @thetravelingchild @themomtrotter has always been an inspiration to me because we create the same content. Should I elaborate on what I find inspiring about them?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My travels originally started after having my daughter when I became a young mother. I went through postpartum and didn’t know who I was anymore after becoming a new mother. I was told by most people I have to settle down & and my life is over after starting a family.

I was only 19 when I had my daughter and still didn’t even experience my life yet and now I became a mother. I felt limited about how my future will now be.

I knew I had to get out of my postpartum so I could be the best mother I could. I had the crazy idea to create a bucket list to accomplish tasks I always wanted to do. My first task was to take a solo trip out of the country and experience new cultures and excursions I’d never experienced before.

I took a risk and family criticism for a 4-day solo trip to Costa Rica leaving my 3-month-old safe at home with her father. This trip is what sparked the creation of “Travel With Meko” blog. This trip was empowering, I had a fear of heights and went zip-lining, learned how to scuba dive, and just learned how to break out of my shell and discover my new self. Having that mental break solo made me realize how much I was capable of doing on my own and what I could do as a mother.

After this trip, I took advantage of the “free flight” as a lap child for kids under 2. My goal was to take as many flights as I could since I only had to pay for my flights. I wanted to build a blog to prove that life isn’t over once you have kids but life has just begun bringing life into this world. That’s where I came up with my motto: “Motherhood Without Limits” because as a mother you can have multiple roles in life so who has the right to tell you who and what you can be. Mothers are friends, teachers, chefs, and entrepreneurs, & they can be sexy, & there are no limits to being a mom & what role they can be.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Day 1 Land in New York City and settle in.

Day 2
Visit QC Spa. A spa that overlooks the city and relaxes in the many sauna rooms. After the spa, you can catch the ferry on governors island to experience the view and eat at Cipriani.

Day 3
During the day we will sightsee and go to time square. At night we will eat at Catch Steak and after go dancing at Tao nightclub.

Day 4
New York has a bunch of Speakeasy bars and I would take my friend to discover a hidden bar in New York this day. La Noxe is right under the MTA train station. After we would go to my favorite hookah lounge Pergola.

Day 5
As a licensed esthetician I still work in a medical spa 2 days out the week. I would have my friend come by for a facial or laser hair removal for beauty care. After we would go to miss.korea for the best Korea BBQ

Day 6
We would go to miss.Lilys for a good vibe and food. Then we would go to Pinao’s bar. Its a hip place and a vibe where the young crowd hangs out but you always have a good time.

Day 7
Since its the last day I would take her to have the best ramen noodles at ichran and take her to her flight.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Following mothers on Instagram that showed me I could travel with my kids as well

@thetravelingchild @themomtrotter

Website: https://www.travelwithmeko.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelwithmeko/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-rooks-37618a145/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelwithmeko/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiGxemp0MzyqKbRXVnhNSRw

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@travelwithmeko

Image Credits
I own all rights too the photos