CURRENT MISSION

"One glittered in a space apart, harmonious, balanced, noble side of humanity, quiet, determined, peaceful."-dear dear Doris Humphrey

ABOUT ME

I'm a bit restless, in the best of ways.
I love working with kids, they give me a new vibrant outlook on life and an energy that I haven't found elsewhere!
That being said, I hope to work as a Pediatric Nurse in a Children's Hospital after graduation. 
I am blessed to be the nanny for two kids that light up my life. 

Traveling is one of my passions. I've learned it's as incredible as they say it is...and even more exhausting ;) But, it's so stupidly worth it!
⛺️✈️

Dance and Writing are my forms of expression.

I appreciate the quiet of the morning, when the sun is shining and I can simply be. I am a bit of an introvert at times that also enjoys *good* company and I learn so much in the presence of others! ☕️

I love a good chocolate bar. (Vosges, anyone?)
I like showers, preferably hot ones. (I'm writing this as a person who has been traveling a bit)...
Once upon a time I wanted to be a flight attendant or a magazine editor.
I am a nurse in training, I graduate Nursing School in December 2014, huzzah! 

I love the mountains.
I'm a Tennessee girl. 
I moved about every 2 years of my life growing up. So, I suppose one could say I'm more adept to change.

I studied, traveled and danced for a semester in Bulgaria (an incredible experience, one of the best decisions I've made). I was so fortunate to be able to travel throughout Europe a bit after my studies:

Bulgaria, Italy, Czech Republic, Holland, Turkey, Latvia, Germany, Hungary... best adventure of my life.

I think it's safe to say I'm a rather optimistic person with the aim to maintain an accepting viewpoint of people and places and this big crazy world that isn't so big afterall.


I'm a bit older and wiser than I'd like to be at times and at other times a bit less than I'd like to be.  Realizing as I get older how little I know and how beautiful that is, because it is a good place to start.

PHILOSOPHY

People are very similar and that's cool, but I love getting to know them enough to see the differences and appreciating those differences is the best...

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."
Albert Einstein

"A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner."
- English Proverb

"It's examining failure that improves us...not dwelling on successes"

"Follow your passion and provision will follow"

"Sing, Laugh and be happy, joy comes from within"

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows...it's what the sunflowers do."

"It doesn't matter how slow you go, so long as you don't stop." -Confucius

"Patience gives the power to practice; practice gives the power that leads to perfection."

Some Camus thoughts:
"Each joy made me desire another"

"Friendship is less simple. It is long and hard to obtain, but when one has it there's no getting rid of it..."

"Maybe we don't love life enough? Have you noticed that death alone awakens our feelings? How we love the friends who have just left us?...Then the expression of admiration springs forth naturally, that admiration they were perhaps expecting from us all their lives"

"But do you know why we are always more just and more generous toward the dead? The reason is simple. With them there is no obligation. They leave us free and we can take our time."

"I was half unlearning what I had never learned and yet knew so well-how to live"

"I was considered to have charm...You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question"

"If you don't know the guy on the other side of the world, love him anyway because he's just like you. He has the same dreams, the same hopes and fears. It's one world pal. We're all neighbors."-Frank Sinatra

"That's the beauty of life. You never know where it will take you, so all you can do is look forward. It's ever changing."-Chantel

"Never give up for it is just the place and time that the tide will turn."-Harriet Beecher Stowe

Tao of Tango Quotes:
"Isn't life a tango?"

"We are a visual animal. The vast majority of our first impressions are primarily visual."

"It is a travesty that women are taught to despise what they are naturally..If you spend your life fighting yourself, it's going to show"

"The temptation to rely on the obvious is extremely powerful. External, physical manifestations are easy guides, since they require virtually no involvement or contact. Sadly, this leads us to interpret bodies+posessions as if they were the people themselves. Our "higher" self is rarely called into action"

"Respond. Not to anticipate. To respond to something real, not imagined. To anticipate is to make assumptions about something that hasn't happened yet, that may never happen. Creativity is to respond originally, your own way, within the boundaries of reality. Without rules or boundaries, there is chaos. In chaos, there can be no partnership."

"In a healthy relationship, even if you are closely united by the dance, you must still be able to move independently from each other without causing your partner to collapse."

"By empowering my female energy, my ability to pause and observe before acting has been strengthened, which in turn has prevented much frustration, heartache and apologizing."

When knowledge is your own, education is your own.”-Jen 9/1

“There are some things words can’t encompass [that leaves us with dance]”

“History assures us, no matter the circumstance, people will dance.”-beautiful thought!
Desire to be free”-Isadora Duncan moving from her xiphoid process was an interesting element to explore a bit.

“Dalcroze=control the mind through controlling the body. Eurythmics”

“People have a fascination with that which is foreign”

“Individual dignity and courage-preached against moving in fear.”-Martha Graham

“Be aware of the feeling in your body, do not overanalyze. Just feel!”

"I am the center of the universe…and so is every mountain top.”

“The way in which we say things says so much about us”-Jen 9/7,

“Thou shalt acknowledge the wonder.”-DH Lawrence

“Dancing is not only intimately associated with religion, it has an equally intimate association with love”-Havelook Ellis

“Dance is the art of the body”

“Part of the appeal is permission to enter into an unusually sensuous experience in the name of art”

“Reveal the good, the beautiful”-Aristotle vs. Plato’s allegory of the cave

“When and how people dance is determined by their attitudes toward the body”

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Climber (rock climbing), Dancer, Children's Hospital volunteer (Child Life), Campus tour guide @ETSU (Admissions Ambassador), ETSU Rock Climbing Club vice president, Special Olympics coach, Volunteered in Bulgaria with the Roma Preschool Project (helping Roma kids get into BG schools)...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My boyfriend had a couchsurfer profile and I hosted people with him and I've surfed with people unofficially through him.

I just finally made my profile.

Interests

New countries and cultures... working with kids, yoga, meditation, cooking, nature, people, Climbing, Dancing, coffee (black), I love tea, being barefoot, handstands, anything near water, etc...

• animals
• dogs
• arts
• writing
• singing
• acting
• beauty
• dancing
• tango
• education
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• coffee
• yoga
• coach
• meditation
• clubbing
• traveling
• cycling
• rock climbing
• olympics
• teaching
• nursing
• religion
• tourism
• volunteering
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite short story: Bartleby the Scrivener
Favorite book(s): The Tao of Tango, The Phantom Tollbooth, Nancy Drew series, anything by Sabrina Ward Harrison, The Hiding Place
Favorite movies: Elf, Elizabethtown, Catch Me if You Can, Sex and the City series...
Music: Gang of Youths, Beyonce, Mina Tindle, Third Eye Blind, Rolling Stones, Andrew Bird, Eve 6, Jimmy Eat World, Tom Petty, Bon Iver, Learning Team, Modest Mouse, The Script, One Republic, Kings of Leon, Youth Lagoon,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1. Roma Preschool Project. I had the privilege of working with and loving up on the sweetest Roma kids in Bulgaria...what an opportunity. It's one that will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart. The kids had never seen a toilet or learned how to wash their hands, etc... and we had the chance to teach them these things so that they could go to the Bulgarian schools. They were so young and so STRONG. While I taught them important lessons they taught me the beauties of life with their smiles, their support of one another, their strength through their hard lifestyles, etc... awesome experience and I hope to do more of this in my lifetime with nursing, helping those that need and deserve wonderful care and love.

2. Biking along the Baltic Sea Coast in Pavalosta, Latvia with my 2 roommates/best friends was one of the most incredible times. We did a road trip across Latvia and stayed in a tiny town on the coast and we were some of the only visitors the town had. It was quite romantic for a traveler's mind. The town shut down at about 8pm and the only food you could get was by knocking on a fisherman's door and it was quaint, and simple, and absolutely perfect. I felt like one of my dreams was coming to life.

3. Miss AUBG (Bulgaria) Awestruck in the strangest of ways...

Teach, Learn, Share

A safe and cozy home and a cup of tea or coffee is always in the works...☕️

WC in Europe is water closet (toilet)
Bulgaria puppy dogs are protective, don't be afraid of them they are there for your benefit.
The more vague a club is named the more likely it is that it could be a brothel.
We're not all so different.
Safety when traveling is key but be adventurous because the stories are well worth the risk.
Talk to people...often times it will benefit you in one way or another if it's learning something, financially, intellectually, etc...especially during travels.
Don't be afraid to ask.
Trust is a funny thing...gauge it well.
Instincts are a great guide, TRUST THEM.
your friends really do define you, shape you, make the difference, cherish them and choose them wisely. (Thanks great friends!)

"No one ever remembers the night they got plenty of sleep"

Countries I’ve Visited

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Netherlands, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bulgaria, United States

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