The Road Less Traveled
- Kimberly Merrill
- Jan 10
- 3 min read
Alongside my love for travel, I have spent nearly two decades serving as a school counselor with expertise in college and career attainment. Throughout my career, I have walked alongside students as they discovered their best-fit college, university, or post-secondary pathway. There is nothing more fulfilling than watching students step into careers they are passionate about—or hearing them later reflect on how my guidance played a meaningful role in their journey toward living out their dreams.
As I approached almost twenty years in the field, I began to reflect on what was next. It wasn’t about retirement—it was about purpose. I asked myself how I could continue to bring fulfillment to the lives of others while also finding joy and alignment in my own calling. As I reflected, the answer was clear: travel.
Through my work with students—researching colleges, exploring cities they hoped to call home, and walking through this same process with my daughter—I had a powerful realization. Many students leave their hometown for the very first time at just 18 years old. What if they had the opportunity to experience the beauty, culture, and rhythm of different cities across the United States before stepping into these unfamiliar spaces for college?
That’s when I truly understood the value of college tours—not just as informational visits, but as transformative experiences. When families can travel together and explore campuses and cities side by side, it can change the trajectory of a student’s decision-making and strengthen family connections in the process.
I then asked myself a final question: How could I merge my passion for college and career guidance with my love for travel to create a meaningful business and calling? At that moment, the vision became clear.
As a parent, I discovered that one of the greatest gifts I could give my daughter was the gift of travel. As an only child, she had everything she asked for—dolls, dollhouses, and all the accessories that came with them. As I looked around at all the “stuff” she had, much of it more than she had time to enjoy, I realized that something needed to change, especially around the Christmas holiday.
That realization led me to plan a trip to California to visit family. What an unforgettable time we had. Although there were still gifts, they were few and far between. Instead, my little girl found joy in the beach, the sunshine, and quality time with family. In that moment, a new idea—and a new dream—began to take shape.
I decided then that we would travel for the holidays. Christmas would no longer be about things; it would be the gift of travel. My goal became simple: to travel as many roads as we could, even if it was just one trip a year.
As I’ve traveled with my daughter through the stages of her life—from a little girl, to a teenager, and now a young adult—I’ve come to realize that travel has been the most fulfilling gift I could ever give her. Experiencing God’s creation and creating everlasting memories is something no material gift can replace or erase.
Over time, our love for travel grew, and so did my desire for others to experience it as well. That desire became the foundation for Ready Set Travel. I wanted to become a travel advisor who helps families create meaningful travel experiences—experiences that bring them closer and leave lasting memories.
In addition, I wanted to escort group trips where friends and families could travel together, eliminating the fear of traveling alone and creating a culture of travelers who are ready to explore the road less traveled—any place they’ve never been before.
My dream of traveling the world is deeply rooted in my own childhood experiences. The road trips planned by my parents from Florida to Branson to Las Vegas, and later my first flight to Los Angeles, planted a seed many years ago. That seed has grown, and its roots have now been replanted through my daughter and the hundreds of people I’ve had the privilege of helping plan travel throughout the United States and around the world.
The seeds had already been planted. Now, I am intentionally watering that vision—trusting the process, walking in my purpose, and preparing to watch it grow.
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