I’m not even sure where to start with my relationship with the United States. It’s where I was born, it’s what I know best, but man, am I glad to be away from it all. I have so much to say about this, but simply put, it’s a mess.

I feel as if my life really wasn’t too unusual from what most young people experience in the States. I grew up in the suburbs of a small town in Virginia. I went to school, I played video games, and from a young age (like most young people), I was already thinking deeply about what I was going to do as an adult.

Come time for university, I chose to go into IT. I was always drawn to computers and technology, so it seemed like the perfect fit. I did my time, got good grades, and within a year, I had secured a great internship.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m now in my early 20s. I’m sitting behind the wheel of my car, stuck in traffic, in Washington D.C. I’m coming home from a long day at the office. My highlight of the day was that I helped resolve some trivial technical issue at a company whose purpose is more or less slavery in the form of mortgages.

I saw what my life was going to be if I stayed like this. I had already acquired an apartment filled with things that I didn’t need. I took on the commitment of years of my life in repaying my student loans, and my career that I had already invested so much time in was anything but gratifying. I was a slave, the perfect product of the United States’ economic model today.

In light of all of this, I took steps to regain my freedom. I started traveling around the country. It was incredibly exciting; I saw and experienced so much that I had only dreamt of. From east to west, I visited many cities and got into some amazing adventures.

In pursuing greater flexibility in this, I started selling off my belongings: my car, my apartment, my furniture—anything that I didn’t absolutely need for this lifestyle.

Somewhere in my naïve judgment, I also decided on impulse to move to New York City. I had big dreams, and the excitement of the city drew me in.

I explored the city thoroughly, kept traveling around the country, and lived my best life… for a time.

Let’s just say things didn’t exactly go as well as I had imagined. Life had reared its ugly head, I was in the deepest of depressions, and lost in every sense of the word. I was a mess for a multitude of reasons. Underlying all of it was the fact that despite having found my passion in life, I was incredibly alone. I had no friends, I had fallen out with my family, and my depression made any glimmer of hope seem very faint and impossibly far away. It was a very dark couple of months there for a while.

For anyone else in this situation: there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All you need to do is keep moving. Like Dory says in Finding Nemo, 2003: “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming.” She’s right.

When I was at my lowest point, I realized I had nothing left to lose. So I made up my mind: I was going to leave this life behind. I was going to scrape myself off the floor and do something that both terrified me and inspired me: travel the world.

I began my search and found an opportunity in Germany that would serve as the starting point in this fresh start. I had no idea what to expect, really, but I took the leap of faith and went into the unknown.

On May 25, 2024, I flew out of the United States with no plans of returning anytime soon.

I have so much more to say about my life back then. I’m honestly still processing it all; perhaps this is part of the purpose of this blog? Be that as it may, it’s behind me now. I hope to return someday for some time to continue the adventure of my life.

The United States today is facing an unprecedented shift in energy. Things are rapidly changing at home, and more so in the world at large. I hope she survives in the years ahead, but I’m certainly worried about her.

So, till then,

Auf Wiedersehen, U.S.A.