This is probably the only blog from an Embry-Riddle student who started two first days at this University, 5 years apart.
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that one year ago, I was a Key West trolley tour guide. I entertained tourists with facts of the island and repeated the same corny jokes to them every day, sometimes with a few originals. Chances are good that if you visited Key West and rode on an orange and green trolley over the past year, I was your bus driver and guide. I also drove the Key West haunted tours, a type of meet and greet with Key West characters like Robert the doll as well as the other types of spirits….not necessarily the ones found in haunted houses. I found myself living on the island by accident. I went to be a dog sitter for two weeks and ended staying almost a year! You might say I caught what the locals call the “Keys Disease” and it’s hard to resist. People come for a visit but never leave. It’s said on the island that if you show up to work every day, you have a job. If two weeks later you’re still showing up on time, they’ll make you the manager. Well, sure enough, the dog left town with its owner and I stayed. As well as being a tour guide, I worked other side jobs such as newspaper delivery boy, bakeshop dishwasher, and event security (a.k.a. bouncer).
The island life was a relaxing and good one. It is hard to resist the sunniest place in Florida with the least amount of rain. It ‘s truly Paradise except, endless renditions of Jimmy Buffett songs blaring down from Duval Street. One day I woke up with one more hangover and realized I wasn’t moving forward with my life. It was time for me to progress forward on my flight plan for life.
This was the culmination of a restlessness that I tried to resolve, and it brought me through many different experiences. These included several semesters at a state university, a shopkeeper in South Beach, and an unpaid Internship for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in DC. This was right after I withdrew myself from Embry Riddle; I wanted to try something different in life. But my passions drew me back.
On August 27, 2012, my second first day of college began. Once again excited to be making progress, living in campus dorms, and starting from where I had left off, but more focused on my degree: Aviation Business Administration. In one week, I will be curing my desires, dusting off the backpack and train hopping across Europe to appease my wandering soul. In one month, I will be attending classes with the Study Abroad program in Berlin, and in one year, I will be an Embry-Riddle alumnus. It’s a long way from the old island life, and it feels great!
