"Thirsty for Lemonade." Somewhere in Baden Württemberg, Germany

It did not work out as I had expected, though I suppose that is no news to those of you who have experienced reality for longer than I have. The city somehow mixed up my paperwork and fell through on some responsibilities, so when I went to pick up my work permit, I discovered that it had not even been started. Following the shock of that little announcement came a swift pause to my position and I was immediately placed on unpaid leave pending my documentation process. After nearly three weeks of being in the Trading department for TUI in an orientation mode, I anxiously awaited an assignment and stalked my colleagues to observe their work in the meantime. Why the three weeks? It seems that Trading didn’t quite have a specific task arranged for my three month placement in their department, but that’s simply part one of the story. Part two? TUI Germany was shaken up on the 1^st of October, the beginning of the new fiscal year, by the announcement of a major corporate restructuring. One of the departments hit the heaviest was that in which I was placed, as the company decided to combine the elements of Product Management and Trading so as to be supervised by one joint manager.

Colleagues from TUI Germany fill the
foyer for the corporate announcement

As my mother and a few mentors of mine have so auspiciously stated during this conundrum, “everything happens for a reason.” I suppose the fact that I haven’t actually been able to work yet helps the fact that I wasn’t allowed to work this whole time, despite the fact that we didn’t know it. I suppose the fact that I am simply an International Management Graduate “trainee” helps the fact that my position is unaffected, despite everything else being affected around me. I suppose the fact that I have money in savings but no vacation time until Christmas was actually not the obstacle that I presumed, since now I have both money and time on my hands.

Keeping positive and making
the best of the situation!

Therefore, I left. No, I didn’t break the temporary government request to remain in the borders of Germany while my paperwork processes, but rather I jumped on one of those fancy speed trains and am wandering into southern Germany. Let’s call this a surprise leave, rather than an unpaid leave. It gives me a chance to regain my motivation and spirit after the three weeks of uncertainty and overwhelming German language immersion. It allows me to view the montage of fall colors as they fly past my train window, to taste the traditions of the south at their annual festivals, and to visit with one of my dearest friends who lives near Stuttgart. I plan on making the most of this situation, of making a whole lot of lemonade out of this pile of lemons that have been tossed my way recently. I hope you’re thirsty, Germany. 

"Here I am. Here we go." September 9th, 2015; Hanover, Germany

Welcome to the town hall,
"Rathaus" that (mostly) survived
the bombing during WWII.

I sit here nestled in my duvets with the pattering rain on my window, a fresh coat of nail polish on my fingers, maps taped to the wall, and a smart casual outfit hung across the door of my new apartment. I’m in Hanover, the time is 9:38 pm; everything is ready. Tomorrow, my career begins. At 7:37 I will rise to shower briefly and meet my Dutch roommate, Valérie, -who is equal parts hilarious and brilliant- for a healthy breakfast and a brisk bike ride to our new corporate headquarters for TUI Germany, the office that handles all tourism and branding operations for the German-speaking source market. After four years of family events and parties with my boyfriend Björn, I have apparently picked up enough German language (with his patient instruction and correction) that my position begins with a 3 month assignment in Hanover.

Following the famous "Red Thread" that
was painted on the ground to showcase the
city's most interesting sights, we stumbled into
this beautiful café street. 

This journey begins promptly at 10 am (not bad for a first day) due to meeting schedules. Needless to say, butterflies have taken up residence in my digestion track over the last few hours. Their origin undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that walking into that building tomorrow will launch the next step in what will hopefully be a prosperous and fulfilling career in international business management. However, I must say that I am not daunted by the challenge. Rather, it invigorates me! Finally all my hard work is paying off. All of those sleepless nights of papers and projects, working two or three jobs to put myself through my undergraduate in the US and finally my graduate program in Europe. All of those applications for scholarships, visas, competitions, references and positions.

Here I am. Here we go. I am absolutely prepared and yet have no idea what tomorrow will look like. Therefore, I am simply reminding myself that I have always given my best and my hardest, that there is a company who went through the ringer with costs and effort to bring me here as the only American ever hired for the International Graduate Leadership Program here with TUI Group, and that I can do this!

For the last year, I have repeated this mantra to myself based on Sophia Amoruso’s famous quote; tonight is no different:

“If I believe what I am doing will have positive results, it will - even if it’s not immediately obvious.” 

My first training will take place at
TUI Germany's headquarters in Hanover

"Flying By." July, 2015; Leaving Antwerp, Belgium

They always say that life flies by when you’re young, when you’re having fun, when you’re not paying attention; so the idioms carry on. What might surprise this third person plural entity to which we give so much power over our behavior, is that time also flies by when you put your nose to the ground and work tirelessly toward a goal that is so very close to heart.

All four family members
gathered for the first family
photo since the divorce.

After five intensive years of my Bachelor career to earn two degrees -one B.Sc. and one B.A.- working two jobs simultaneously to pay for them, studying abroad for three semesters, and taking two summers of extra classes, I thought I had clearly understood the definition of exhausting yet rewarding ambition. I was wrong. There was still that itch for something greater, something which I had not yet uncovered, that I had to do. I had countless meetings with advisors and respected professors at the University of Northern Colorado as well as career mentors with whom I had associated along the way; this led to a clearer idea of the field to which I felt called: international, cross-cultural, innovative, and strategic management implementation. The problem was, none of these professionals nor myself had the faintest idea of what this actually could mean, but we had a tracing of a path that might lead to this Bermuda triangle into which I would quickly yet not quietly disappear. Rather than desperately job-seeking in the trenches alongside all my fellow colleagues following our basic qualification of a diploma, that path etched out the idea of a graduate degree. Abroad. I knew that if I wanted a career to stretch across the borders of the United States of America and the united countries of Europe, then I would need to stretch my accredited education as well. The perks of that include a new adventure and a slightly more affordable tuition bill. Tireless hours of searching and applications led to a full calendar of interviews and deadlines during a pressured final semester at UNC, but it was all worth it when the Antwerp Management School said yes. AMS was my top choice in European universities for its location in Western Europe, AACSB and European accreditation so that I could repatriate when and if need be, and a clearly outlined leadership development track. It was in Belgium, which was a land in which I had not yet in my life set foot. Not only that, but I accepted and moved there (after painstakingly following toilsome visa documentation procedures) without knowing a single soul within the Belgian borders.

How’s that for a sense of adventure?

The Ferris Wheel at Antwerp Central
Station made for an astounding welcome.

So here I am, 10 months after I began lectures at AMS. I just completed the most difficult year of my life financially, academically, relationally, and mentally. The laudable news is, this challenge has shaped me in ways I am still struggling to comprehend. I have two new, incredible best friends from Belgium who invest fully in my life and future. I have an outstanding long-distance relationship that we have managed to build to extraordinary heights over the last four years. I have visited so many new places and deepened my understanding of the French and Germans languages, as well as added some basic understanding of Flemish. Not only that,

Antwerp's MAAS area made a great place
to picnic and bike-ride with my new friends.

 but after applying thoroughly for 35 positions, I was invited to join the team of an inconceivably amazing firm which just so happens to be my dream job, a dream which shaped itself over the last several years. Needless to say, my life flew by this year. It wasn’t because I was too young, because I was having too much fun, or because I wasn’t paying attention. It was a combination of being young and ambitious, having a life-changing experience, and working to the constant best of my abilities in order to achieve unbelievable heights in my personal life story and my career.

Voted Vice President of the Student Council,
I was honored to share the graduation speech.

Idiomatic expression or not, what comes next will be one for the history books.