2022 LIFE UPDATE

A lot has happened since we last chatted. First and foremost….. I am writing this FROM EUROPE. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

Let’s rewind.

The last time I updated you guys was March 2021 and I was temporarily moving back to Houston from New York. The NYC AuPair diaries were ending and little did I know it, but another very pivotal chapter of life was beginning.

I’m going to quickly walk you through the 2021 timeline, because it’s crucial for understanding how and why I am currently in Cologne Germany writing in my little digital diary…

April 2021: I spent this month catching up with my college friends in Baton Rouge and being roomies with my cousin Devin. What a timeeeeee. It was the weirdest feeling returning back to Baton Rouge, an entirely different person from who I was the last time I was there pre-New York. I had the full-intentions of remaining in Baton Rouge while I finish my degree butttt I don’t think I had realized the extent in which New York had changed my expectations of what I want my daily life and surrounding to look like. The “college” lifestyle was just no longer for me unfortunately. It was nice to experience Baton Rouge from a much healthier mindset but I think all-in-all it just felt like remaining there was a step in the opposite direction of where I was trying to go. I wasn’t expecting to feel like that, but I did. So I spent the month catching up with everyone then repacked my things and went back to Texas. Plan-less.

Summer 2021: I began my summer classes and kicked off an internship with my dream company. I did 75-hard, spent time with my family, and honestly kept a pretty low profile. It was the summer of healing & hard work — mentally and physically. I went on a very spontaneous trip to the US Virgin Islands with my family and tried to save up all summer for…. GREECE (aka the *next* pivotal moment for me)

August 2021: THE MONTH OF EXCITEMENT. The month began by getting a job offer after my summer internship ended. I was ECSTATIC. I took on the role of the Marketing Coordinator and dove even deeper into work experiences. I was bouncing around between cities for work and I loved it. Grownup mode was fully activated. I then spent a little over two weeks traveling around Greek islands with my best friend…. does it get any dreamier than that? I met so many unique people from all around the world and had the most eye opening experience abroad. Life-changing actually… As you can now tell.

My eyes were opened to how life functions outside of my New York corporate life and honestly life in the United States in general. I had a quarter-life crisis moment as I was sitting on a beach in Crete.

It hit me that I had achieved the very thing I had worked SO damn hard for… I landed my dream job at the age of 21. Isn’t that a good thing? Yet I wasn’t sure I even actually wanted it? As I met more and more people from all different pockets of the world I came to the realization that I had been conditioned to believe a very fabricated and unfortunate view of what “success” looks like.

In the US we are taught that the younger you accomplish something, the more successful you are and more praise you get. Think about how glorified Forbes 30 Under 30 is. The bigger the name of the company you work for, the better you must be. The hustle is glorified. ESPECIALLY in New York. Its trendy to work two-jobs, be on the move from sun-up to sun-down, to “grind” everyday, to wear a new outfit to a trendy club every weekend. Like… what kind of life is that?

I was 21-years-old with my dream job in hand. Life was coming at me fast. Really fast. It hit me that I also am still a college student and a literal child who isn’t ready for dedicating my time to work yet. It hit me that I was completely ignorant to the world around me.

So I did the only logical thing that I know how to do — pack my entire life and move to a foreign country to figure out what the hell this “life” thing is all about.

I kissed goodbye to all of my work responsibilities and honestly any responsibility that I had to “figure it out”.

I found a family to AuPair for, booked a flight, and the rest has been history. The same situation as when I first moved to New York but this time from Europe. Virtual asynchronous university while the kids are at school, no job, no bills. But also…. no friends. I actually didn’t know anyone in Germany or pretty much anyone on the entire continent of Europe. But how life has unfolded since January 14th, 2022 is a blog post for another day.

Just wanted to catch you all up. One second I was girl-bossing it in NYC and the next I was posting photos from my German class in Cologne. We will talk soon.

Xx

Maycie Rae