CURRENT MISSION

get a real job

ABOUT ME

I have been in love with Theatre and Music for most all of my life. It took me until high school to actually join groups where I could explore more of these and now I am studying for a BA in Technical Design/Production.

Starting the summer before my 1st year of high school until the summer before University I went on a mission trip with my church through Habitat for Humanity (a charity organization that helps lower income families have a home for those who have not heard of it) where we would pile 15-35 teens into vans and drive to places and help build houses. I have also participated in this program in St. Louis where I grew up. It was always a great way to help someone else, work out doors using experience I gained through building sets and even taking back experience to help build sets for theatre.

The only other travel that I did was family trips which were to the tourist places like Disney World in Orlando, Florida or visiting family. We didn't really get to do many family trips, mostly I spent my summer in camps and being a camp councilor was actually the first job besides baby sitting for family friends that I had before moving for University.

As the end of University started to loom around the corner and I realized that the best I had for travel were the mission trips, occasional family trips and the only place I had lived was the Midwest I decided I needed to travel, so I enrolled in the study abroad program so that I would get a chance to see Europe as it would probably be my only chance for a very long time to get the opportunity to be over here.

Now I participate in this site so that I can meet people and have experiences around Europe that I can take back with me then just being in a city. I think that local people have so much to share about locations then what is just in the guild books or at the tourist information, like the little hole in the wall around the corner that the tourist might not think to visit. Plus I love meeting people.

PHILOSOPHY

Let people be who they are and just be the best that you can be. The only person you can change is you and life is full of choices that make up who you are and what you believe. I just want to enjoy my life and I don't like dealing with petty hate issues that cause people to be blind to all that a person has to offer just because they are prejudice. Life is too short for all the little things to matter. Learn everything you can and if you think you don't have anything to learn then your dead.

Dr. Seuss put it best: “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hope to share experiences with locals in a chance to better understand the language, the culture and the area and not be a stuck up American only staying in hotels because that is dumb. After I settle down I hope to be able to host and while in limbo at least offer a drink and conversation with people traveling in the States where ever I happen to land when I get back.

Sadly I hadn't really head about this site until I was talking with a friend about her travels and I have never had the place to host anyone because I was either in University accommodations or living in a full house with people who wouldn't let me entertain the idea.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have never couchsurfed in my life time, but I hope to change that once I'm in Europe and only stay in a hotel or hostel if I must. It is harder to start with this and my studies haven't given me much of a chance to travel and Easter Break is my first chance to try to contact people to meet.

I did meet up with a very lovely gentleman when I first arrived in Manchester who took me to a pub to watch a football match where I meet other couchsurfers but I haven't had a chance to participate in other events.

Interests

Reading, Theatre, Music, Traveling, Art... I'm a Fine Arts kid and left handed as well. I tend to find myself going to museums and galleries when I am traveling places. I love architecture around England that I have seen in pictures and want to see these buildings up close and see all the things they have to offer for history and stories.

I hope to continue to find beers that I can stand to drink (so far I found a local brew in Edinburgh and I loved the Guinness that I had in Dublin) but the only two that I have found in the states that I enjoy to drink are New Castle and Killian's. So there is hope of finding more that aren't American beers, which I don't think will be a problem in Europe since I have heard of all the local brews that most pubs tend to carry instead of just major brand names.

• arts
• culture
• humanities
• books
• architecture
• design
• make up
• beer
• working out
• drinking
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• camping
• soccer
• history
• study abroad
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

I read SciFy and Fantasy along with Romance plus the books I must for class. I'm trying to get back to some good fiction and the classics for fun, not just the ones that my high school teachers thought I should read. When I find a good book I can block out the world and just keep reading. Growing up I was told I talked too much and so I started carrying books around because it tends to be hard to talk when you are absorbed in a good book. Young kids don't read enough anymore (at least in the States that I have noticed) and it makes them have extremely short attention spans.

I love listening to many types of music and tend to like older music because stuff today is too predictable and all the stuff on the radio (at least in the states) seems to be stolen from the older songs because no one can come up with anything original.

I am an avid movie fanatic and will watch about anything but horror.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think the road trips that I have taken have been great experiences. I have been on one crazy road trip with my friend and her father the spring break right before I was 17. We had to drive from Miami, Florida (the very tip) to St. Louis, Missouri because our flight was canceled from our spring break trip. We made it 1/2 up Florida before we had to stop to sleep for the night and then the 3 of us traded off riding shot gun (passenger seat), driving and sleeping in the back to get back to St. Louis in time for school the next day. I am now a part of the 1000 miles driving in a day club.

The other road trip was again 3 people from Columbia, Missouri (middle of Missouri, about 2 hour drive west of St. Louis) to Washington, D.C. for a conference where I then spent 4 day with amazing people in Washington exploring and learning before driving back to Columbia.

I think it is a great thing to just be in a car with your friends on the road traveling somewhere. See some great scenery of the states, had some great conversations and it just seems like something that should be done if you live in the states.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States

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