Gumption is a lifestyle and travel blog that strives to inspire people from all walks of life to live a life of gumption and a life to the full. At Gumption, I share personal reflections, stories of inspiring people and moments, and so many of the little things that make my life richer and my relationships deeper. While inspiring my readers to live a full life, I also want people (but especially women) to see and believe that you can “have it all”: a life full of joy, growth, contentment, and adventure.
After growing up in the sun and humidity of Miami, Florida, I moved to seasonal Boston, Massachusetts for college, graduating from Boston University. I majored in international relations (focusing on security and African studies), with a minor in environmental policy. So, naturally, all I want to do is write now.
Seven months after graduating, I moved to Johannesburg, South Africa to work with a church for one year. In that one year, I fell in love with a tall, dark, and handsome, South African man. My one year turned into three and half. That handsome South African and I got married and adopted a floppy basset hound named Rolo.
The three of us recently moved back to the United States and are currently living in Miami, Florida, along with our rescue basset hound, Twix.
I hope you follow along and stay a while.
Whether you have a question, comment, or would just like to chat, I'd love to hear from you! You can email me (below) or follow me on social media (links on the right).
If you'd like to collaborate on a project or advertise with Gumption, please email me at:
Contact Me!
Whether you have a question, comment, or would just like to chat, I'd love to hear from you! You can email me (below) or follow me on social media (links on the right).
If you'd like to collaborate on a project or advertise with Gumption, please email me at:
ellieannfulton@gmail.com
If you have a bit more time to read, this is the longer story of Gumption:
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| From the earlier days of Gumption |
This blog has had a number of beginnings.
I first started this blog in 2009 as I ended my junior year in college; except I didn’t tell anyone. I loved to write and had been encouraged by a number of friends to start a blog, but I was still too insecure to let people read it. So, I blogged through my summer internship in Washington, DC and only gave out my blog to three people – my mom, my roommate, and a friend.
Senior year at BU started and I blogged once. (I really need to get better at pushing myself to write in the moment because it’s in my times of identity crises and emotional turmoil that I seem to have the best thoughts and ability to express myself – and that’s often when I stop writing.) Senior year was crazy, and afterwards, the only job I could find was Starbucks. (No bashing on Starbucks – I loved working there! I was just a tad frustrated to graduate after four years and a dollar amount-that-will-not-be-named and not be changing the world from my own New York City desk.) Once again, the blogging ceased.
Then, in the fall after graduation, I ended up deciding to move to South Africa for a year (long story). This was a turning point for this blog, then called: Days of Gumption. (Here's the story behind the name.) Not only was it a means to keep my family, friends, and acquaintances updated on my newest adventure, but at that point, the blog really took on a focus, and I started grasping how much I love writing and being confident in it (so don’t tell me if you think it’s bad…just kidding. Kind of not.)
While on my year adventure in Africa, I met a South African man, fell in love, and at the end of 2012, we got married. That was the most recent second-beginning for Days of Gumption. Figuring out life in a new country was Earl Grey; figuring out life in another country as a new, young married woman, still trying to figure out her career, is a whole other cup of tea. Although the title, Days of Gumption, has ever ceased to be appropriate, it was a mouthful. So I decided to shorten the name to just "Gumption".
It's five years after the start of Gumption, and I still need help being brave. I’m still finding ways to have gumption every day – just as much as when I was a junior in college.
