Conversations with Kimberli Rodrigues

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberli Rodrigues.

Hi Kimberli, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I was a child, my mother gave me a book by Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Looking back, I never realized how significant that title would be to my life. I started my travel blog K.Rod Collective around 2016, 2017 and my Youtube channel by the same name in May of 2021.

I was born in London and raised in Atlanta. My mother is from Jamaica and my father is from Guyana. They both went to college in London. My mother went to nursing school there. So I grew up with this hodgepodge of cultures. We used British vernacular in the home, we would eat traditional West Indian food and listened to Caribbean music, and we lived in America and in Atlanta where the city’s culture would shape my life experiences and education.

As a child and teenager, I had this fascination with the world. I knew that I wanted to see as much of it as I could. When I graduated high school, I moved to New York City for ten years, where that fascination grew even deeper. I was surrounded by people from all different walks of life and backgrounds. In New York, I was an actress and after a few years of commercials, short films, plays, and pretty much around the clock auditioning, I decided to go back to school.

I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and Linguistics, which is a story in and of itself because I took ALL my classes in Spanish and I didn’t really speak the language. 😂😂It was a complete mess and I was in tears more times than I could count, but by the grace of God, I ended up graduating Magna Cum Laude. Which to this day, I still have NO IDEA how I managed to do that.

While studying, I fell in love with the Spanish language and more importantly–Spain. My studies in language took me around the world. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Argentina for a month and in Spain for about 7 months. When I was in Spain, I completely fell in love with it. And Spain was my first solo trip. The program I went with was a fall semester in Barcelona. But I took it upon myself to go to Madrid for the summer and take Spanish lessons. That summer changed my life. I met a ton of new friends, learned the city, and my life just changed. After I got back to New York, I knew that I a) wanted to see more of the world and wasn’t going to wait on anyone else to do it and b.) I needed to live in Spain.

Fast forward a couple of years and I eventually moved out of New York and moved to Barcelona Spain in 2016. I lived there for about 3 1/2 years. I got my Master’s there and worked and just lived my life. It was there that I started getting more serious about my blog. While I was living in Spain, I would get tons of messages and emails from other Americans traveling to Spain and just needed someone to help them navigate the city or someone to just hang out with. I became that person. I realized that I had run into so many people, primarily women who would say that they could never do what I was doing. Or wanted to see the world but didn’t have anyone to go with. And I was sit there like “Wait, what?! Of course, you can do what I’m doing, all you have to do is believe in yourself…and do it.” And that’s kind of the crux of my travel blog. I want women to live their best travel life and stop waiting around for other people so they can see the world. I moved back to Atlanta at the end of 2019 right before the global pandemic hit North America. I started a Youtube channel, K.Rod Collective, where I mainly give travel tips and inspiration to help women see more of the world–even if they’re on their own.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. hahaha But as Oprah says, with no struggle, there is no strength. At times, I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. But I just want to encourage women and get the word out that you can do it. I think the biggest struggle for me has been trying to juggle building my business and blog from the ground up while still working a full-time job and trying to be the social media manager, photographer, writer, editor, and videographer all in one. Hahaha Y’know?

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in travel. More specifically, travel tips and solo female travel. I encourage women to go out and see the world solo and provide tips and guides for people to travel well and with more confidence. What sets me apart I think is that I’ve been there. I’m just like the next person. I don’t come from riches or wealth. I work too, just like the next person. I just have an intense passion for traveling and seeing the world and don’t want fear to stop other people from seeing the world if they have the same passion as me. I’m most proud of my small but mighty growth. I grow a little bit more each year, but whenever I get a message from someone who says they watched a video of mine or read a blog post and have since booked their first solo trip, scared and all…then to me, my job is done and there is another victory in the books!

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Wow, that’s a really good question. Success to me is living a full life with God with zero regrets. Living in purpose and doing what I’m called to do.

Pricing:

• EVERYTHING IS FREE .99!!!! HAHA

Contact Info:

• Website: Krodcollective.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krodcollective/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krodcollective
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDwgT7SdacN0kPSky_niVzg