CURRENT MISSION

To live until I die, enjoy the ride, and find some great stops in between.

ABOUT ME

My name is Laura or "L.A." not because of the city of Los Angeles but because my parents gave me the name Laura Ashley. I'm a newbie when it comes to CS but I wanted to give it a whirl because I love to meet people, I love to travel, and I love social media.

I'm a Minnesota girl. I grew up in the NW region on a border town to North Dakota. So for the first 25 years of my life I spent mostly everyday in two different states. I decided small town living wasn't for me and I wanted to experience more so I moved 300 miles SE to Minneapolis. I have lived here since 2008. I moved here without knowing a soul to go to a music school. In the 5 years I've lived here I have met some of the greatest friends I will have for a lifetime. In the 5 years I've been here I've worked at a lot of restaurants and clubs, worked hard to earn two degrees, and managed a great group of musicians.

Music is what moves my soul. I play piano and sing. I play flute and sax (but not very well) and I'm teaching myself how to play guitar. I really want to learn bass guitar because there is just something about that instrument that sends me in a trance. I love and respect all genres of music! It truly is the universal language.

I'm a free spirit. I count my blessings everyday; as a reminder I have it tattooed on my wrist. I love culture and learning about other's culture. I want to travel the world and leave my footprint on many soils. I'm a true Pisces... to the core! I love nature and grew up as a lil' country bare foot girl but my dream is to live the big city life in New York City. I've been there many times so hopefully soon I will be living in a shoe box studio out there soon.

I hope that is enough for you to dig my groove.

PHILOSOPHY

I learned at a young age that life is short! So I really feel in love with a quote by the late great James Dean, "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." Cliche... yes but, Life can be pretty cliche.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm new to CS but have slept on many couches and have had many friends rest their heads on my couch. I would love for people to experience the great city I live in and I'd love to be the one to help. Times are tough and hotels are expensive. Why not help each other learn, grow, and experience life?

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've surfed plenty of couches, just not via this website. It always nice to stay in a hotel but I've never been the one to be a touristy type. You get a much more real experience of where you are exploring when you sleep like the natives sleep.

Interests

I love music! It's my heartbeat! I collect vinyl records because music sounds the best when the needle hits the wax. I like to go to as many music festivals as I can.

I like to travel and really would love to visit where my ancestors came from (Sweden, Norway, France, Ireland). I have friends scattered all over the great states and I love traveling to visit them.

I'm kind of a computer nerd and spend a lot of time on it editing videos, creating music, creating art, geekin' out on social media, and researching things.

I like history and sociology. I love to learn. I enjoy learning about the lives of others.

ooooh and I love photography and art.

• arts
• culture
• singing
• photography
• music festivals
• festivals
• cocktails
• clubbing
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• piano
• boxing
• business
• communications
• history
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: any kind of biography, music, astrology, the Bible, different online blogs, and The Rolling Stone magazine.

Movies: I'm not a movie buff. Sometimes I find it hard to sit through them. Some of my favorites I could watch over and over are: any with Marilyn Monroe, Legend of the Fall, Fried Green Tomatoes, Dazed and Confused, Friday, Caddyshack, a good comedy, love story, or suspense.

Music: You don't want to get me started on this. Led Zeppelin (all time favorite), Three Dog Night, Amy Winehouse, Notorious B.I.G., Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, OutKast, G. Love, Bob Marley, Damian Marley, Nas, Jimi Hendrix, Brooks and Dunn, Raphael Saadiq, Rolling Stones, Black Keys, Bassnecter, Slightly Stoopid, many of my friends who play great music too!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've seen many amazing things on many different levels. Levels of life, in my 30 years on this earth I've been through a lot of ups and downs. Levels of music, I've seen A LOT of great artists take the stage. Levels of travel, I've been on a lot of great trips around the US.

I count my blessings every day!

Teach, Learn, Share

Yes, Yes, and yes!

I know a lot about the music business (managing, booking, promoting, etc) I know a lot about social media and other great tools on the Internet. I know about business management. I know how to make a great cocktail.

I would love to learn about anything you can teach me CS University.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States