Hey all you crazy peeps
:D
So today, as some of
you may know is the first anniversary of my arrival in America :) Firstly I
wanna say happy one year to all my fellow au pairs who I had the pleasure of
meeting at the training school this time last year. I hope you all had an
amazing year and whatever you decide to do this next year, good luck and God
bless :)
Wow, the land of the
free, the home of the brave, and now the home of Naomi :) this year has a
rollercoaster ride!!!! I have had the most amazing, thrilling, adventurous,
scary, independent, emotional, daring, educating, wild, eye-opening, relaxing,
and courageous year of my life. It has truly been a year of all emotions and
experiences and the best thing I can say about it is that I made the most of [almost]
every opportunity handed to me.
Starting with the
first week year, I was challenged to love these kids as my own, as well as
discipline them, as well as encourage them, as well as keep them in check. I
can now say being a mom is tough, I have semi first-hand experience :p but I
can honestly say I feel these kids have taught me so much more than I could
have ever taught them. They taught me how to love and trust, and to forgive and
forget quickly. They taught me how to be young and free, and how to rely on
others when you can’t do something alone. They taught me how to let go of the
small things, and to try new things every day, even if it’s not a first choice
preference. Mostly, they taught me about family. There are so many times when
Jillian (the 5 year old girl I look after) will call me her sister; and so many
times matt (the 8 year old boy I look after) will include me in counting the
members of the family. Oh I do love them so much and couldn’t have been more
blessed to be a part of this family.
I did not realize I
liked travel as much as I do, until I started travelling. It is an amazing (and
uncomfortable) thing to live out of a suitcase, and I recommend it to everyone!
This past year I went to Niagara falls, Maryland, Washington dc, Amherst in Boston,
Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas city Missouri,
Philadelphia, New York city of course,
and obviously around Jersey… I have loved seeing every different place, and
definitely plan on continuing my travels this coming year.
This year has been
most significant for me because for the first year in the past 5, I have had a
stable place to call home, amazing people to call family (Jess and Evan), and
met the most amazing friends from around the world (Germany, France, El
Salvador, Mexico, and England). Being away from home teaches you real
independence and how to trust yourself. I have always said when you take
yourself away from everything you think makes you who you are, that’s when you
find out who you really are, what you really want, and what you believe in and
stand for. This I have done, in one short and long year and it’s truly an
inspiring thing. I now believe in myself, have strength and courage to do
things I never thought I could, I know what I think is right and wrong, without
a grown up telling me what to do, and have just grown in maturity so much.
All I have left to say is praise God! Praise Jesus for this past year, that I made it, and still love my job and life as much as I did in the beginning, and praise God for his faithfulness this year. Thank you to everyone who has followed me this past year, who have helped me and encouraged me to push on, and who have stuck by me the whole time. I love you all so much. I am truly excited for another amazing year of being in America and “kissing the rain” :)
