Today we’d like to introduce you to Nell Narasappa.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It was a warm Indian summer evening – a five-year-old gripped her grandfather’s hand real tight as he walked her through the hospital they owned. Wide-eyed, filled with curiosity, this is where her journey would begin.
And that’s truly where it all began. 🙂
Hi! I’m Nell Narasappa, a scientist during the day and a travel-planning ninja by night. I absolutely love to plan and execute a good travel itinerary and I also run a travel-inspired page on Instagram called Modicum of Joy.
My passion for science brought me to California’s sandy beaches in 2014, where I currently work as a Scientist in the Cancer Immunotherapy space. At first, I didn’t travel much owing to my packed curriculum at USC, but when I did find the time to explore the great outdoors, I always planned detailed itineraries, with bathroom breaks, wifi spots, et al.
My boyfriend-*now* husband, who was finishing up his Master’s on the east coast, decided to move in with me just when the pandemic hit, and through no fault of his own ended up being a regular feature on all my (our?) trips!
I’m all for visiting the famous spots around this country’s beautiful landscapes, (and soon around the world!), but what really has me hanging on the edge of my seat is the unknown. I’m talking about an off-the-beaten-path rendezvous with a delightful helping of what-if-we-take-this-turn-instead, within set rules of course.
Spontaneity and a heavily detailed itinerary don’t go well together you say?
Think again.
It’s all thanks to the good folks at Google Earth. Like a great free soloist knows their exact route up to the mountain peaks, so do I with satellite imagery, planning the drive down each road virtually while letting my spontaneity run wild. It is after this vicarious visualization that I meticulously plan my itineraries, photo ops, and experiences.
I’ve had multiple friends request my itineraries and geo-locations, realized that travelers prefer a well-crafted social media page to discover adventure travel tips and itineraries and hence I decided to sign away my life (can you tell I joke a lot?) by transforming my Instagram page into a travel canvas for my audience to virtually explore and sift through the various travel opportunities.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Well, it’s definitely been an uphill battle, but such an enriching experience so far. The process of capturing and curating content provides for a riveting 5-to-9, that I absolutely treasure!
As you can imagine my 9-to-5 cancer research job is not an ideal work-from-home candidate, so I had to upskill my repertoire to include photography, videography and social media management in the free time that I had. In terms of content creation, perfecting the art of using and extracting the utmost from my gadgetry has been a humbling experience in itself. I spend most weekends shooting, editing and perfecting this art in my own backyard in San Francisco.
An interesting challenge that no one talks about it is how your partner becomes almost this, waking human tripod (humor makes another cameo!). This is why I always plan my photo opportunities and compositions, so we do not miss out on the perfect lighting (ahem, golden hour) and are ready to go at any given time. I set this up beforehand, and fine-tune it in the moment, so it only comes down to my husband framing me up and clicking a button.
Another challenge I foresee involves the different needs of each social media platform’s audience and how each app’s algorithm selects which content to push. TikTok and Instagram favor crisp reels with catchy hooks, while Youtube is more involved with detailed videos and itineraries. Learning to navigate these differences while still keeping true to my content will be a grueling campaign.
Nonetheless, being a scientist has me championing “hard to accomplish” tasks with ease (over the years) and I’ve never been more inspired to travel, create, curate and share content with my audience.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
By day, a scientist that constantly conspires with her team on ways to beat cancer! Easier said than done, but simply put, I specialize in *opening up a can of whoop-ass* on cancer.
By night, a travel influencer, broadening her horizons and exploring different cultures across the world. I specialize in curating travel itineraries complete with GPS coordinates for those hard-to-reach/off-the-beaten-path locations, photo opportunities, and budget travel tips.
I am most proud of being able to juggle my full-time job (that I repeat, is *not* a work-from-home gig) and content creation. It’s an ongoing challenge, but I keep an up-to-date kanban board that manages work, health, and hobbies like a philharmonic orchestra. Being both the musician and the conductor here is three-quarter parts exhilaration and one-quarter exhaustion, and I love it!
I believe the thing that sets me apart from the others is that my travel content is able to reach a larger audience, from immigrants starting out in different countries to couples and students aiming to be economical, to being married and planning for two, and maximizing that 3-week vacation time that corporate life limits us with. I am/was all the above during this lifetime and believe that we each can fulfill our wanderlust, and I hope to inspire you to travel with the content I share.
Any big plans?
My future plans involve visiting all the US National Parks, I’m at 11/63 and cannot wait to explore more in 2023! I’m focused on continuing to paint my travel canvas (@modicumofjoy) and showcase more international destinations next year.
I’ve already started work on my blog where I plan to share travel itineraries more seamlessly and start work on other social media platforms.
My kanban board is going to explode! Come join in on the explosion and the wonderful aftermath of each travel experience.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @modicumofjoy
Image Credits
modicumofjoy
Amanda Irene Photography
Stephanie Lamar Photography
