How Being an Au Pair Changed My Life
Liza Johnson
Liza is a Jesus lover, flight attendant, celebration enthusiast, lover of adventures, dinner parties, people and smiling at strangers. She is a firm believer that the mundane moments are what make life beautiful and should be filled with coffee dates, walks in the park, and finding joy in each day.
I am a firm believer that some of the most beautiful seasons of your life are the ones that you don’t expect to have the greatest impact on you. In other words, the experiences that you plan in your head can end up playing out in a completely different way. Personally, it’s in the unexpected moments that have brought me the most joy.
At least that’s what living out my dream as an Au Pair in Florence, Italy, looked like. It has been three years, and I still think about it and cannot help but thank Jesus for opening that door. I am reminded that he is in every detail and he cares so much about our hearts.
In college my dream was to study abroad, and for financial reasons, it never worked out. I was so devastated, but through prayer and slowly giving up control of how I thought my life needed to look, it ended up working out a different way. My picture perfect plan being wrecked taught me lessons I never would have learned if my first plan had worked out.
I will never forget the exact moment I found out I was going to be an Au Pair. I was in Michael’s (the craft store) and had just received a notification from What’s App from the family I had matched with from the Au Pair company I was working with. I immediately got this sense of peace and knew I had to say yes. As the days and months led to me going to live with the Italian family I started getting so nervous, but also excited. It was a feeling I had not quite experienced before. It kind of felt like jumping off a cliff into the water but just continuing to free fall. I had no context of what each day would look like, which kind of felt freeing after working in a school with a set schedule for so long.
The family I lived with was so kind. They were welcoming. They embraced me as their own and wanted to know all about my life in the United States. Each day was so different and full of spontaneity. Most days I would take the children to school, go to language school, and then have free time to explore the city before picking the kids up from school. As I would walk by the Duomo each day, I would pinch myself to see if I was living in a dream. In the afternoons after I picked up the kids from school, we would then walk to the park. It was so simple yet such a different way of life than I was used to living. I know I have given you an idea of it being this perfect season, but it was also full of challenges along the way. A tight budget, language barriers, unfamiliar places, and more were all growing pains. But being an Au Pair taught me so many lessons I never would have learned by staying in my comfort zone.
Being an Au Pair taught me: When people take a chance on you it is the most beautiful gift. Whether that is in a job, a relationship or even an experience like being an Au Pair. All you have to do is give it your all and show up with open arms for what you are going to learn. You cannot wait for life to happen to you. You must go and live it.
One of my greatest takeaways is to stay flexible. Take chances, but be reminded that maybe something isn’t working out exactly how you want for your good. Maybe you are not ready, maybe there is something better waiting. I do know though that you cannot give up. If you have a dream that continues to stay in your heart, keep walking. Keep praying and being hopeful, keep knocking. Sometimes your path looks different than everyone around you. And that’s okay. I think that’s part of growing up. Learning to walk in who you are and being confident in your own path.
If I had been so stuck in how I wanted living in Italy to look like I would have missed the gift of meeting the most amazing Italian family, getting to explore the streets of Tuscany with a panni in hand, growing my faith, and making the most beautiful memories. When I look back on that season I often think ignorance is bliss. Moving in and taking care of two children who do not speak the same language as you is challenging. But aren’t the best things in life a challenge?
You grow in discomfort. You start to find out who you are. My last bit of advice would be to say yes to not knowing how something will turn out, but believe in the journey along the way. Say yes to doing something like being an Au pair even when people in your life think you’re crazy. You will not regret taking chances on life experiences. Take a solo trip. It will change your life. You will meet so many amazing people along the way and learn more about yourself. At the end of the day this is the one life you get to live. Don’t waste it waiting on things to be perfect.