Make Your Life A Story Worth Telling

Being an au pair for my triplets

It’s graduation time for some of my closest friends so the following is kind of an open letter to them. Or to anyone who is on the verge of a change in their lives. It’s been years since I graduated with my first university degree, my Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and perhaps I am “suppose” to have settled down by now. It didn’t exactly happen after my Bachelor and it didn’t exactly happen after my second degree either, my Master of Arts in the same field. But that’s alright in my book.

Speaking of books, make your life a story worth telling. How I see it, unless you are hurting someone else, you are entitled to make any decisions you want. If you want to travel, like I do, figure out a way to do so. I don’t come from a family with endless resources, but I figured out ways to achieve what I wanted to do. As a 19 year old I participated in an au pair program so I could travel to and live in the US for a while. When you are an au pair you provide childcare for a family as a live in nanny. What I gained was a lot of experience being immersed in a culture apart from my own and I became more independent. I also gained an extra family. I love them and they love me, unconditionally. Was I scared to leave my hometown with one stoplight and care for 9 year old triplets halfway around the world? You bet.  

Sydney - working for my beloved Four Points

Dare to do things, dare to make mistakes. You don’t have to decide right now what you are going to be doing professionally for the rest of your life. My resume is quite colorful and I like it that way. Apart from being a nanny I have worked for H&M (the clothing store), the post office – sorting Christmas cards, and the admission office at a university, to mention a few of my jobs, and currently I work with spreading awareness of Chinese culture and language. I have also worked for a hotel in Sydney, which I was able to do when I received a working holiday visa to Australia. Again I managed to travel to and live in a country while supporting myself financially. I worked in housekeeping at Australia’s largest hotel, Four Points by Sheraton in Darling Harbour. I have never worked so hard, meaning manual labor, in my life and I had a very hard time keeping my weight on. But the experience was amazing! I gained yet another family as I was accepted into the “hotel family”, and obtained skills in giving first class service. I also lived right smack in the middle of the city (in 4 different apartments over the course of 1 year I might add) and that was thrilling! (Paying rent was not so thrilling, but a necessary evil).

I am very proud of my formal education, but also my personal and professional experiences. I can honestly say I have learned something valuable from all of my previous jobs. I tend to live my life one adventure after another, but have I at times been scared of changing course in my life? Yes, very much so. But I would still say dare to take a leap of faith. And if something doesn’t work out, don’t be afraid to change the course of your life and do something else. Be smart about finances, but don’t sit and wait for the perfect time to do something, because you may be sitting on the fence forever!  

So if graduation time is scary for you or if you are reading this and contemplating a life change of some sort and feel nervous, I understand. But change is inevitable and it’s better to embrace it. When thinking back to when I graduated High School and what I wanted out of life, I am thinking of who I looked up to. It was not millionaires and celebrities. The people I looked up to were some friends, they were older than me, and they had traveled the world. That’s what I was aiming for. And here I am. I have been fortunate to have traveled to some amazing places. 

So search your heart of what is important to you and follow it. Just be respectful to others while doing so. And traveling may not be what you wish to do. Someone once told me: “You know Laholm (my hometown with one stoplight) is also part of the world, right?” hinting to the fact that I was so keen on seeing everything else in the world that I at times forgot my immediate surroundings. So perhaps you can’t take a year off and hit the road with a backpack. And maybe you don’t have the desire to.  But maybe you can explore the area you are in right now and see what excites you? Maybe you can make a living out of it? My point is, whatever you choose to do, make your life story one worth telling! Don't let fear get in your way!

Congrats class of 2014! You did it!