City of Lakes.

"Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten,
An keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen,
Der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen,
Er will uns Stuf' um Stufe heben"

Well, first allow me to introduce myself, even though I doubt that anyone who is not acquainted with me will ever read this. But after all you never know. So here is what you should know about me. Born and raised in Germany, my heart still resides in the North, in Hamburg, at the water, by the coast, with family. However, after 19 years I decided that it was time for a change, time to move on, time to set foot on a new path, time to take my own steps towards an exciting future. I moved to Berlin, which I have called home for the past few years. Berlin was the first city that I conquered all by myself, who's secrets I slowly had to uncover, who's magic put me under its spell.

The experiences I have had in Berlin truly made me grow as a person. They shaped me, set me on a path towards myself and taught me a lot of valuable lessons about life. It was not always easy, sometimes it was rather dark, cold, lonely and difficult, but I realized that this is part of life, that these times are the ones that make us grow, teach us all the important lessons; and most importantly, that these are the times that make all the happiness, all the joy, warmth, love and pleasant memories that are also part of life, all the more enjoyable. Without darkness there is no light. At times we have to step out of our comfort zone, grow and do something extraordinary in order to get to the place where all the magic happens.

The next step

Now here I stand, ready to continue on yet another journey, to challenge the unknown, and to travel along a new path. Today is the day I am moving to Minneapolis, and so many thoughts and feelings rush through body and brain at the very moment I am writing this, that it is difficult to process it all, but right now all can be summed up into excitement and wonder. I am excited to see what lies ahead of me on this path that is only slowly starting to reveal itself to me. I wonder, dream about and picture all the wonderful things that lie ahead, about the person I will be at the end of this journey and about all the things that I will see, experience and feel. But if I can say one thing right now, it is that I am ready for it, that I embrace the future with open arms and that I will try to feel, experience and see as much as possible, that I will be grateful for all that life has to offer and that I will always aim at taking the next step.

Looking back at this point I have to say that I am thankful for all the great and amazing people who's ways I have crossed, who were part of my life. So cheers to family, friends and love. They are the ones that give meaning to life, that teach you valuable lessons and that inspire you to go on once you have lost track. I guess I am blessed that I have already had so many amazing people in my life, and I hope from the bottom of my heart that many of them will cross my path again and again. Nevertheless, I am also excited for all the people that I have yet to meet in the future. Life is so exciting all the time, we just have to know where to look to see its wonders.

I have to admit that leaving was not easy. Sometimes what you have to do is not what you want to do. And sometimes beginning a new journey is the scariest thing in the world. I was never scared to go somewhere, to leave something behind, but this time it was different. This is actually the first time where I am going somewhere ALL alone. No family close by, no clue about how life in the new city will be like, no idea where I am going to live (yes, as until further notice I am homeless); really, no idea about anything. So I truly challenge the unknown right here, right now. I found it hard to get excited about this new experience, to look forward to it and to embrace it. But now that I am finally gone, all these important feelings that I have been missing are here, and in all honesty: I am super excited and it all feels like the great adventure it is, and after all, something that is hard to let go of is always worth returning to. Does not just count for home. Now I will be couchsurfing and tomorrow I will start to find a roof above my head (feeling homeless is not really what I was looking for).

And so I continue, step for step on my own personal journey towards the future, and I invite you to accompany me on this trip, so feel free to comment, share or just read about what is going on in my life, about all the things I feel and about the thoughts that run through my head (and there are many).

P.S: A random fact to finish this, because really random facts are awesome. In Iceland you can go to jail for 5 years if you smoke while peeing on an airplane toilet. They don't joke around with their customers, also they don't give them food...