Well, maybe not my least favorite, but they are pretty far
up there on my personal list of things I dislike. It’s because I hate
titles so thoroughly that it has taken roughly a month for me to post
anything on my shiny, new (read slightly intimidating) blog.
I am a self-professed over-analyzer. I have the extraordinary talent
of turning the simplest things into full blown operatic dramas. It’s
also true that I am very likely the most terrifying critic I will ever
have to face. Nobody has ever been as hard on me as I am on myself. When
I write, I churn words around in my head dozens of times, sometimes
spending ten minutes on one, single sentence. Everything, every word has
to be perfect. When it comes to something as important as a title, just
the thought of creating something so definitive is enough to make me
break out in hives. (A little bit of an exaggeration, but I do have
sensitive skin.)
It took me several hours just to come up with a name for the blog
itself. “HOW CAN I BE EXPECTED TO SLAP A NAME ON SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T
YET EXIST”, was the thought running through my head over and over again.
A few months from now I might randomly decide that I’m decidedly
passionate about Humpback Whales. I may write an entire entry dedicated
to the whale’s migration patterns or mating calls. I certainly don’t
know what direction this blog is going to take, which is why I chose the
title you now see at the top of the page, “Of Life, Love and Adventure.”
My possible passion for whales could fall into the ‘Love’ category,
along with a million other things I find extraordinary, and ‘Life’ and
‘Adventure’ are pretty generic, so I’ve covered my bases fairly well. I
can write whatever I want. Fabulous!
Which, now that we’ve reached the topic, is what I hope to gain from
this blogging experience. I’m going to do my absolute best to silence
the hyper-analytical, overly critical, evil little voice in my head. I’m
going to write for myself, spilling my thoughts on to this blog as
honestly and as openly as I can. No more thinking of what other people
might see in me; I’m going to experience the world in a whole new light,
and I’m going to relate it to you in the way that brings me the
greatest sense of fulfillment.
In thirty-five days, THIRTY-FIVE, I will be boarding a plane bound
for Munich, Germany. I will be living there for a year, working as an Au
Pair for a family with four small children, all boys, all very cute. I
am very excited, very nervous, and even nostalgic thinking about
everything and everyone I will be leaving behind. I can’t even begin to
imagine all that lies ahead of me: the life I’m going to soon be living,
the people whose stories will intercept with my own; I know that
traveling this path will be the adventure of a lifetime.
I promise to record as much of what I see and experience on this blog
as possible, for the people I love back at home to follow along with my
travels, but also for myself. It will be an account that reflects the
girl who writes it: sometimes zany and unpredictable, sometimes quiet
and reflective, always full of love for the people that mean the most to
her, and always searching for inspiration and flashes of clarity and
beauty that truly make a life well-lived.
I plan to fit as many incredible, awe-inspiring, powerful moments as I
can into one year abroad in Europe. I hope Germany is ready for me,
because I’m about as ready as I will ever be.
XO
Sarah (the American Au Pair in Germany)
