So what is this all about?

When I was in seventh grade, I started to consider which university I would further my education at. As a budding child-star (if having a featured role in our middle school’s production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” deemed me a ‘child-star’), I was determined to study at a studious and exciting university. For me, that meant leaving Missouri, leaving Nebraska, and leaving behind my loving and supporting parents. When I stumbled upon New York University, I decided I was a little over-qualified for their world renowned acting program, but it would have to do. Assuming my middle-class parents would have no issues paying for the $50,000 a year tuition, I set my heart on NYU.

My parents tried to be supportive, but with a $50,000 dent to their bank accounts looming over their heads, it was difficult to encourage my plans. I insisted that I could get scholarships, take out loans, sell my organs, do anything it would take to walk across the stage in New York City. It took me a long time to finally come to the realization that my plan had one detrimental flaw: it wasn’t realistic.

So, I put my New York City dreams to rest and opened my eyes to the next best thing: Chicago.

The summer after my freshman year, I changed a lot. At the tail end of the summer, I spent two weeks with my mom in Chicago going to a comedy camp at Second City. These two weeks changed the way I thought about myself and my approach on life. I realized that laughter really is the best medicine. The older kids at the camp were able to participate in an extra hour and a half long session that was about stand-up comedy. We spent the two weeks developing our routines and attempting to create a comedic masterpiece. On the last day we presented our finalized versions to each other. After I presented mine, an 18 year old came up to me and said I was “actually really funny”. These words meant a lot to me, so Eric, if you’re reading this, thank you.

After my summer at Second City, I spent the next two years in the dark. I thought about pursuing a career in comedy, but questioned whether I would really need a degree to do that. When adults would ask me about my plans to further my education, they would scoff when I would suggest a bachelors in comedy or theater. “Why would you waste all that money on a degree that has no guarantee of an income out of college?” They’d say. And as much as I wanted to prove them wrong, I eventually accepted that if I craved success, then I needed to steer my life in a different, but equally as unique direction.

In the summers of 2017 and 2018 I traveled to Australia and Europe respectively. While I had always had a travel bug in me, these international adventures had me ill with the travel flu! I loved the excitement of exploring new places and experiencing adventures unlike anything offered to me at home in Missouri. It was after these vacations that I started envisioning a life for my future self where I could just spend my days traveling and exploring the world. At first I considered theater programs at different colleges in Europe, but I ultimately found that to be impractical for me. A few days after I got home from my Europe trip, I started looking at the possibility of being an au pair and the rest is history.

Okay, maybe “the rest is history” is a bit of an overstatement. Considering it took me several months, several Skype interviews, and several disappointments, I’d say the process was both exciting and frustrating. It took me about three months to finally match with a family, but once I did, I was giddy as could be. As you can tell from this auto-biography, a lot can change for me every summer, who knows how much these next two years of my life will change me for the better! It’s an experience that I know will be both parts rewarding and challenging for me, but it’s an experience I am so eager to live and I am so glad that you all get to live it too. Vicariously, I mean, through this totally awesome blog that you get the pleasure of reading (hopefully) every week for the next two years! Buckle up and keep your hands at feet inside the ride at all times, please!

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