Hello! I’m a girl without a clue 🙂
When I sat down to think about my website name, I went over what I wanted my blog to be about. I knew I wanted to share the stories of my travels, as well as the tips, tricks, and how-to’s I picked up. I also knew I wanted to write about my teaching career; completing my education degree, working in Barcelona as a tutor, and online English teaching. I also knew that one day I’d build a van and would want to share that process (though my first go at that dream ended in a bit of a tragedy).
I wanted something quirky and could represent “me”.
Again, when I sat down to think about my website name, my very first thought was: I don’t have a clue.
I don’t have a clue as to what I’m doing with my life. I don’t have a clue as to where I want to go. I don’t have a clue as to where I want to end up.
I don’t have a clue as to what to name my blog.
And so I became A Girl Without A Clue.
And in all actuality, nobody does. No-one has an idea as to what they are doing or where they are going. There are parts that you may have figured out, but when life happens, it’ll take you by surprise, and then you’re right back with questions.
My name is Reanna.
I am 24. Born and raised in the small state of Delaware. And up until a few years ago, I lived my life in a pretty linear line.
I always dreamed of becoming a teacher, meeting a good guy, getting married, having kids, and being forever amongst friends and family.
After high school, I went on to accomplish part one and two of my dreams: attending the University of Delaware with a degree in education.
Specifically, elementary education and middle school science.
Honestly I just choose science because it seemed like the lesser of all evils at the time. Fast forward through my undergrad and student teaching, I now would choose science education over elementary grades any day of the week.
It was the summer after my freshman undergrad year where things in my “life plan” started to switch. And not because of external forces, but due to an internal shift.
In the summer of 2016, I got hired as a counselor for a summer camp close to my home.
It was my first introduction to a place where I didn’t know anyone and no-one knew me. I met international people for the very first time outside of the foreign exchange students at my high school.
That camp and its staff were in its own little world for the summer.
There are no words to describe the people I met, relationships I grew, and memories I created while working there.
I went on to work at that camp the following two summers until I graduated from college.
That job led me to an awareness I was all too ignorant to realize before: the world is large.
I was amazed at the relationships I found with people from the other side of the planet. The more time I spent with them and showed them my American ways, the more I wanted to see what their country and every-day lives looked like.
No more was I content with the small state I grew up in. I wanted to immerse myself in the unknown.
When my senior year approached and all my classmates were focused on getting actual teaching jobs within schools, I was transfixed on the total opposite. I didn’t want to get a “big girl” job. I didn’t want to go immediately back into the schooling system after graduating. I wanted to take my time between being the student and being the teacher.
I started researching Au Pair work. I even went on to meet a couple of families in Australia via Skype.
But that dream failed to come true.
When I finally walked that stage and took hold of my diploma, I was more desperate than ever to travel.
After working and saving and working and saving, not to mention working and saving, that summer, I went on my first backpacking trip.
In a little under six weeks, I traveled to seven European countries, saw countless summer camp friends, met some extraordinary people, and created memories that I will truly never forget.
After that, I found myself in Barcelona, Spain teaching English to students as their private tutor. When COVID-19 hit, I got stuck there three extra months.
Upon returning home, I spent the next couple of months building out a van with my dad. It was beautiful. My cat, Noel, and I were going to take on van life full force. Except something bigger had other plans for me; within two weeks of living full-time in the van, I crashed and totaled it.
Now, I’m living with my grandfather, teaching English online to kids in China, as well as long-term subbing for a high school.
My life’s pretty stagnant right now, but one day when the world returns to normal, I’ll be back out on the road.
“Without struggle, there is no progress” – Fredrick Douglass
Follow My Accounts:
https://open.spotify.com/user/reannareilly123?si=5usYI1K_Re6rvNIMV6CRp
https://www.tiktok.com/@girlwithoutaclue
https://www.pinterest.com/agirlwithoutaclue/