About Me

Hi! My name is Natalie. Thanks for checking out my site.

When I started this blog in August 2010 I was 26 years old and had just moved in with my parents after an unfortunate turn of events in the job market – something I’m sure many of you can relate to.

It had been 8 years since I had last lived with my mom and dad, naturally creating a new transition comprised of awkwardness and hilarity. After some prompting from my brother I decided to write about it here in this blog.

A lot has happened since then. I spent 6 months living at home and struggling to find employment. I came face to face with an identity crisis, indulged in a few too many pity parties, finally accepted where I was, figured out what I wanted, and discovered some joy along the journey.

One of the things I wanted most was to fulfill a 6 year dream of going to Thailand, and I saw that come true when I was offered a 6 month contract with ECPAT International, an NGO based in Bangkok that fights to protect the rights of children worldwide.

I stepped on a plane in January 2011 and began the adventure of a lifetime. Six months flew by far too quickly, and now I’m back on Canadian soil trekking through this transition period and discerning how the vision I gained in Thailand is going to play out in the rest of my life.

These months since returning home have been the hardest yet – harder than moving in with my parents at 26. I’ve been met with one challenge after the next, constantly causing me to consider how badly I want what I want.

I’ve always been a fan of stories. As a kid my dad used to tell me a story of growing up on a farm in small-town Switzerland every night before I went to sleep. I heard some of those stories over and over again, but I never tired of them because they were all exciting and adventurous, because that’s the kind of man my dad is.

Right now I’m writing the next chapter in the story of my life, and as I do so I have to consider what kind of story I want to tell. Because one day when I look back my life will be a story I tell to my kids and my grandkids before they go to sleep at night. I want my story to be exciting and adventurous. But most of all I want it to inspire.

So I’m drafting this chapter with a pencil and surrendering the final copy to God. I’ll keep dreaming my dreams and putting them into action, and as I do, hopefully I’ll have the courage to make the sort of decisions that will allow for an epic life story.

I hope you will too.