Weekly Interlude 1: Welcome!

Dear Readers,

Welcome to Susan’s Artistic Adventures! As a recent college graduate (Vocal Performance major, Writing minor), I decided now would be an excellent time to begin my very first blog. While I attempt to make a living in two of the most unstable professions possible, I’ll use this space to share my journey with you – and to help me process everything that happens!

Let’s start with the more interesting: this summer, I’m living in Vienna, Austria, while I work as a nanny for the 3-year-old daughter of an opera singer. (Last spring, I spent a semester studying in Wien and have been engineering ways to return ever since.) I arrived last Tuesday, luckily avoiding the massive flooding, and proceeded to jaunt over to Italy, where I’m spending 10 days with my aunt before actually starting my job. All in all, I currently lead an extremely cushy life. (That will change, I’m sure, when I start paying off my student loans in November.)

Vienna is the ideal city for a music lover (particularly classical music). You can walk down the street humming Mozart, and nobody’s bothered. You can see the best opera productions in the world for a mere four euros. My first weekend there, I saw a Kurdish music concert. While all major cities have street musicians, it’s not every day you see a trio playing replicas of ancient instruments. Music saturates the daily culture, which gives the city a certain magic.

Besides music/singing, my other great passion is writing. I’ve been fortunate to have some brilliant and inspirational writing professors, one of whom encouraged me to start this blog. My preference leans more towards creative writing (I have wanted to write novels since I was about five years old), but there’s also something immensely cathartic about sharing real experiences with other people in a more immediate form – whether that be blogging, art reviews, personal essays, or postcards.

So as I begin to wend my way through this “Real World,” which has always seemed to take pleasure in breaking down young 20-somethings, I figure it’s best not to be alone. I mean, some of my favorite afternoons have been spent at the local Javaroom café, swapping stories with my best friends and taking comfort in our uncertain adventures.

So feel free to take a break from your busy (or not so busy) life, and join me for a Weekly Interlude of music, writing, and travel! Or basically (as my dad suggested this blog be titled), a pile of “pearls and drivel.”

--Susan