CURRENT MISSION

Travel and figure out a life mission...

ABOUT ME

From a small town too far south of Chicago to be considered a suburb, I grew up working on farms, semis and computers. I was raised with the belief that treating others with respect and humility was not an option, but the way of the world, or at least how we would live in it. My roots are firmly planted in Sicily and my grandfather made sure to pass on as many life lessons that made him the man he became, during our time together. We worked on the land and while a lot of it felt like pointless manual labor (have you ever raked a lake? yeah, enough said), I always learned something from him. Our crowning achievement was our 2 acre vineyard we planted to make our land our own little piece of Italy.

My first trip outside the country solidified my need to live in another country. I visited Spain for 11 days on a class trip and became intoxicated with this other culture that I had only been reading about in my high school Spanish class. Like many others though, I became overly focused on a 'career' and what the world was telling me I needed to do to live a proper life. While I have no regrets, that frame of mind has changed and I'm ready to get out and travel on a more frequent basis now.

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Update

I just bought a place in Chicago and have an extra bedroom. I'm not looking to host people all the time, but will try to when my schedule permits.

Always looking to meet great people. If you send me a note and are just looking for a bed and don't tell me your story, chances are it's not going to work.

Cheers.

PHILOSOPHY

I guess I have a couple quotes that best summarize. 'You are what you eat.' 'Life begins where your comfort zone ends.' 'Work to live, don't live to work.' 'Just do it.'

There is too much out there and we have an undetermined amount of time to experience. I am working on being more efficient with the time I have left.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm giving back to a community who was incredibly kind when I visited Italy. I'm a big fan of meeting new, interesting people so if I can offer up some space in exchange for some stories and a possible new friend, it seems like an easy decision.

When I surf, I would love to surf on couches with people who could give me a true taste of the local cultures. The best travel experiences I have had were because of a great local friend I made.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far my experience has been amazing. I stayed with a number of people in Italy and met others through the site while I was there as well. Everyone has been overly generous and I'm still in contact with some of them even months after my trip.

Interests

Coffee and a book for a proper start to the morning. Brunch on the weekends. Music. Live music (I play a little guitar, enough to enjoy a good night around a campfire). Apple products. Playing sports (soccer, basketball, golf, volleyball). Fantasy football. Poker. Cooking. Keeping fit and eating healthy. Better understanding organic farming. Entrepreneurship.

• culture
• books
• cooking
• coffee
• walking
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• poker
• music
• live music
• guitar
• sports
• basketball
• soccer
• volleyball
• golf
• entrepreneurship

Music, Movies, and Books

This is all just top of the head.

Movies: The Perks of being a Wallflower, Braveheart, Inception, Dark Knight.
Music: Jimmy Eat World, Ben Howard, Twenty One Pilots, Ellie Goulding Mumford and Sons, The Civil Wars, Childish Gambino, B.O.B., Young the Giant, The Script, Sara Bareilles
Books: Anything from Dan Brown or Steve Berry. Hunger Games series. The 4-Hour Work Week (Life changing book for entrepreneurs and people in sales). Starting Daniel Silva series now so I've got my next 6 books lined up.

This is all outdated but a little much to change now.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walking around Florence on my first night there with a friend at 2 am and seeing everything so still and quiet made each moment of seeing these amazing structures I already knew about something unique and vaguely mystic.

Countries I’ve Visited

Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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