Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Wanderlust infects the best of us, creeping its way into our minds and contaminating our brains with dreams of distant places. Wanderlust will remain incurable only when an individual is full of bullshit and excuses (for example: poverty, debt, education, etc...) - BUT - I can assure you a loophole does exist! Just as I was starting to think this disease of desperation was doing me in for good, I realized there was a way. And now, my friends, this wanderlust I thought to be a miserable infection of the heart and mind has now become a welcome part of who I am.

So how exactly does a poor, indebted, college student like me find an opportunity to travel? There are plenty of them, really... but I've chosen to take advantage of my childcare experience! My five-year history as a nanny has proven to come in handy as an avenue to distant cities, including paid travel expenses and weekly stipends! And with Craigslist.org at hand, my search for a live-in position beyond the borders of Texas was an easy endeavor.

I fly out to my new home, Park Slope, Brooklyn, in four days, seven hours, and forty minutes! I'll pack lightly to better leave San Antonio behind and I'll make no promises to return anytime soon. I'll hug my beloved mother and miss my incredible friends, but I'll keep putting one foot in front of the other until I find myself watching my half-finished college education disappear in the horizon from my coach window seat.

It seems New York City will make a perfectly sufficient place to start my journey. I'll be living with a young family of four for two months, making just enough to scrape by. While I'm there, I expect to spend my first month exploring and soaking it all in, but once I feel I've taken in enough pavement and noise, I'll start job-hunting online again. I'll begin making plans for Portland, Providence, Mexico City, Vancouver, perhaps Dublin! 'Tis a beautiful thought, eh? But we both know there is a small flaw to my almost-perfect plan - i.e., where will I find another family looking for a temporary live-in nanny? But let's not pop my bubble just yet! It's still new and shiny, and I'd like it to remain inflated for as long as possible. Who knows? Maybe I'll spend a year or two in one place at a time. I guess that all depends on two things: the seat of my pants and the wind...