Blog-tember Challenge: Day 15- Life is an Adventure

Today, I wanted to take a day off from the #blogtemberchallenge but then this prompt came up and I had to write a post about it: What is the craziest adventure you have ever been on?

Well, I didn't need to think long about this one as truly my biggest adventure thus far was moving to the U.S. when I was just 19 years old. The day of my high school exam, there was a note on the blackboard that stated: Who wants to be an Au-Pair in sunny Florida? 

I told my mom about this note even though I never wanted to go to America. Yes, I did learn English in school and I also spoke fluently French and I loved France. Anyhow, my mom nudged me to reply and chat at least with this family and over the summer, they decided I was the Au-Pair they wanted for the next year.   Now, you must know that I was born in East Germany and my mom never had this opportunity so she wanted to make sure that I see the world and get out and take advantage of what is being offered. I, on the other hand, had a plan of staying in Berlin to study and pursue a career. 

Saying goodbye to my mom at the airport

But God had a different plan and so on August 31, 2001, for the first time in my life, I boarded a plane and flew to Washington D.C. On the way there, I even spent 30 minutes in the cockpit, chatting with the German pilots and enjoying the beautiful view over Greenland. My new host family welcomed me in Orlando after a rough day of delays but we all got along right away and I felt that I made a right choice. 

Thankful for my great host family

Being 5,500 miles away from home and living with people you just met, can be hard. Some days were better and some were worse: homesickness, language issues, 9/11 happened and shook everyone to the core, and children testing my patience. But after a while, I settled in and enjoyed being there and even got offered to stay longer with my host family. I agreed under the condition that I had to start working on my BA degree as well. And now, it has been 15 years since I came to America. If my mom would have know that I would stay, she would have never let me go.

My parents came to my college graduation

I completed my AA and BBA degrees (always while working a couple of campus jobs or babysitting and in between taking a year off to work at different companies) and after graduation in May 2007, I got my first real job as a Credit Analyst at a bank in West Palm Beach. While working full-time, I also completed my MBA and met my husband in 2008 at a fundraiser I organized for the American Cancer Society. We got married in 2010 and had our first child in 2011 and our second child only two years later. 

Our Wedding, 3/7/2010 in Berlin

Since I have been in the States, I have moved 9 times and together with my family we worked our way from South Florida to NC and now to TN. What started off with a fun, one year adventure after high school, turned in to this long, crazy journey (called my life) and I share it with the people I love the most. Our goals and dreams have changed but we are still on an adventure, pursuing our own happiness (hence the blog title). We are not sure where that will lead us or what happens next, but we trust and follow HIS lead and find our happiness along the way. 

My FAMILY

This journey was so different than I have ever dreamed my life would be but that is also the fun part about adventures. You never know where it will lead you and who will come along for the ride. I met lots of wonderful people along the way, who helped me, guided me and most of all loved me. Without them, this adventure would have never happened the way it did.