One step closer

Have you ever had someone ask you a question about yourself that you didn't know the answer to? A question that made you think about just how well you actually know  who you are, what makes you happy, and pretty much your entire existence? For some of us, this question may be one we've been asked our entire lives, but then one day it hits and becomes a defining moment in our lives. 

For me this moment came in the second semester of my freshman year of college. For my entire life, I had been asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?" and through the final years of my high school career, this was practically the only question that I would ever hear. I heard it so often, that like most high schoolers that suffer from junior and senioritis, I just began to dismiss it and answer with the first job title that would come to my head. “Ambassador" "Politician" "Teacher" "Band manager" the list went on and on. However, these answers never got me any closer to actually figuring out what I want to do. Until one day, I was asked by one of my professors. Rather than asking me straight forward what I wanted to do as a career, he simply asked me to write down a goal I had for my life in 5 years. He then took the paper and stuck it to his wall, telling me that now he is going to hold me to what I wrote and that every meeting until I graduate, he wanted to have a progress report including what I was currently doing to work towards my goal. 

To this day I still have no clue what I want to do as a career, I've accepted this. No longer spewing out the first answer that comes to my head to please the people around me. I have a goal that I am working towards, and a person that is holding me to it. 

With that in mind, I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Amanda Schoer. I am currently a student at Augustana College, majoring in Government/ International Affairs and French. 122 days ago, I decided to leap head first into working towards my 5 year goal. My leap: Deciding to study abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Throughout my life, I have traveled to 38 States and 4 counties. I have/am currently studying 4 languages; Spanish, Italian, French, and soon to be Russian (one day I also hope to add Mandarin to that list, but that day will come in time). I am an artist, baker, musician, and athlete. I am a Lutheran.  I am not a writer nor am I a great conversationalist and my personality has been described as a "Mediator", quiet with great conflict resolution skills.  I love to travel. I love adventure.  

One of my biggest concerns I face about living in a foreign country for 4 months is that the rest of my life will either revolve around me hating or absolutely loving it. This is the decision that seems to be making or breaking my future at this point. That is the scariest thing I can think of. However, in the continuation of this blog, I hope to help push myself to get the most out of my study abroad experience and to be able to reflect on how some of the smallest questions and choices can lead you into the greatest adventures of your life. 

Peace, Joy, and Adventures, 
Manda S.