Life Update

Today is April 13th, 2015. I completed my year abroad to Larvik, Norway with the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program July 14th, 2011.  It has been 3 years and 10 months since I returned home.  That means it has been 1,369 days since the end of my exchange. Funny how life goes on...

Let's see, what have I been up to?

For starters, I'm about to (finally) graduate from college.  Let me say that again: I'M ABOUT TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE.  I have spent the last four years of my life living in St. Louis, MO studying business at Saint Louis University's (SLU) John Cook School of Business (JCSB).  On May 16th, I will walk across the stage a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Concentrations in Leadership & Change Management and International Business.

There's the obvious connection to my yearlong exchange.  I have decided to keep up the international relations part of my soul by studying International Business (IB).  The youth leader I grew into while studying abroad is the Leadership & Change Management (LCM) part of my soul.  Becoming a youth ambassador through Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) was the best decision of my life.

Living in Norway for over eleven months showed me how I can adapt to a new culture; it proved to me that I could network in a completely new environment, all on my own.  I became an ambassador for cultural and emotional intelligence between the two cultures and learned many things I could not learn inside of a classroom.

My decision to attend SLU was mostly based on the fact that I wanted to live in St. Louis.  I had never visited campus before my welcome week and I do not regret that one bit.  If I had held out for one of the schools I had visited, I would have been sorely surprised and would not have found my correct niche.  RYE taught me how to adapt in these types of situations.  SLU quickly became my new home as I joined different social and sports groups and met another new network of people.

I am about to leave this city after moving here a month after returning home from my exchange four years ago.  I have grown as proud of this city as I had for Norway during my yearlong exchange.  There may have been some societal problems occurring during my time here, but all it shows is a need for change and, after all of the drama and violence, I am glad I was here to witness it.  That is another thing you cannot learn in a classroom.

What's next for me?  My hometown.  This is the most scared I have been in my entire life.  I was excited to move to Norway, excited to move to Italy, Spain, St. Louis... But returning home?  I'm absolutely terrified.

I left my hometown of Killington, VT for Norway in 2010 and have not lived an extended period of time there since high school.  I am excited to live near (or with) my family again, but I know how small the town is and especially how few opportunities for IB and LCM exist there.  I am afraid I will get stuck there and not do anything exciting with my life.  I have spent extended periods of time in Europe during high school and college and briefly did some volunteer work in the rain forest of Peru, and there seems to be no big life changes besides returning to what I already know.

Who knows what will happen?  I know I need to keep an open mind, but it's hard when I lived there for 18 years and know just about the entire town, with no prospective jobs in sight.

I'm thinking about saving up for a year and leaving on another adventure.  Whether that adventure is a job or a trip, I have no idea.  All I know is that I will go absolutely crazy not having anything big coming up in the future.  This is the first time I have had little-to-no plans for the future.  Who knew I'd be so stressed about no plans?

My biggest dream is to become a business consultant.  This requires a lot of job experience, so that's my first goal.  I have so much receptionist and waitressing work under my belt, but it is not applicable to what I want to do.  SLU has given me the greatest education I could have asked for and hopefully having that on my resume will be enough to get me into some entry-level office job.

I'll take this year as a blessing.  I get a chance to work on me and purely apply to jobs and save money.  I won't have any homework getting in the way, for the first time EVER.  I can focus on being happy, relaxing and applying to jobs.

Let's just hope something good comes out of it.

I can adapt.  I can overcome these obstacles.  I am a Rotary International Youth Exchange Rebound Student.  I can do this.