Kyle Hepp

September 23, 2007

I am SO tired and busy. I was very tempted to not write a “real,” post because I really don’t have the time. But, I don’t want to get into that habit. So I decided to draw inspiration from Sunday Scribblings, Hi, My Name Is theme.

“Hi, my name is Kyle. No, no, not pronounced Kylie, just Kyle. Yes, like the boy’s name. No, I’m not joking.”

That, my friends, is how I have started too many conversations in my lifetime. People are constantly getting mixed up by my name. I don’t really understand the confusion, to be honest. In this day and age there are all kinds of girls with boys names and vice versa. The world really shouldn’t be so shocked by an unconventional name anymore.

I guess it throws most people off even more that my brother’s name is Kelsey. Hahaha. NO, we were not switched at birth, nor were our parents confused when they christianed us Kyle and Kelsey.

When I was little I hated being a girl Kyle. As I’m sure you can imagine, the teasing was merciless. I remember when I got a short haircut (a bowl cut, THANKS MOM!). My mother will tell you I begged for the haircut. I think she just got sick of trying to brush my ratty hair into a ponytail every morning while I screamed, “Get the lumps oooooooout!” Yes, only slicked back hair, without a bump in sight, completely plastered to my head, was acceptable to my third grade fashion sense. Anyways, the first day I went to class with my new short haircut I have vivid memories of a girl named Melody walking up and saying, “Oh, we have a new boy in our class,” and then laughing evilly. When I protested, she replied, “Well, you have short hair and a guy’s name, you probably have a THINGY too.” Thingy was code for penis.

Those were the moments that made me long to be named something like Sarah Smith, Jane Doe, or Jessica Nobody.

I grew out of that pretty quickly though. By 8th grade I was working my guy’s name like a rock star. When the accusations of “You have a boy’s name,” would come flying, my response was, “Yeah, well. I’m gonna be famous. Famous people have cool names that aren’t the same as everyone else.” Obviously I had no idea what I was going to be famous for. I couldn’t (can’t) sing, act or dance to save my life. But that didn’t really matter. The movie star name is what counts. I’m now thinking that photography is what will save me from obscurity

My brother had it easier. He could just tell people he was named after Kelsey Grammer. It’s always easier to defend yourself if an actual famous person has already been down that road.

These days I love my name. Nobody can pronounce it in Spanish, the l gets swallowed and becomes an r. When introducing myself most people here think I’m saying Carol until I spell it out for them. But, I’m still happy to be unique.

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September 22, 2007

My dad just got a new contract (he has a mystery shopping business and I work for him). It’s a huge job…which has meant a massive workload for the both of us in the past couple days. I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit stressed out. But, I’m SO excited, because with the total amount I’m making from him I’ll now be able to cover my entire student loan payment every month (yes, I have a MASSIVE monthly payment. I went to the most expensive damn school in the world).

And this month, S. and I will be out of debt (aside from the student loans but I don’t even count those anymore). Starting the last day of September we’ll be out of the red and will have enough left over to last us through the month of October. Which means we’ll be able to start saving…which means we’ll be leaving for a trip around the world that much sooner!

This is a boring entry, but I’m just happy to be a little more financially secure. Plus I don’t have the time or energy to write anything longer or more in depth. Sorry!

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September 21, 2007

Today S. and I started talking about why we want to travel. The discussion got started because last night we had friends over and everybody got to telling what their plans in life are. There were five guys and their five girlfriends and when asked where they saw themselves a few years down the road, every single answer was the same.

“I want to get married, have kids and be working as a successful ______.”

We rocked the boat a bit when we stated that we want to travel for at least a year, move to a different country, possibly in Europe, and not settle down to have kids for another 10 years or so.

To me it is so unfathomable to want to start raising a family before you get out to see the world. And that’s not saying that I think people who do that don’t have fantastic lives, but it’s just never something I have wanted for myself. The day will probably arrive someday but for right now I can’t imagine thinking to myself, “buying a house and being ball and chained to one place is what I really want.” When we do have kids, I’d like for them to be true citizens of the world. Hopefully we can expose them to as many cultures and languages as possible while they’re young and have open minds.

This got me to thinking. What makes a person have that need? Travelers often speak of that “itch” that makes them want to pick up and explore new places. Is it because they were bitten by a wandering mosquito and didn’t happen to have any life stability ointment on hand? Is it because of the way they were raised? Or is it just in their genes? Nature vs. Nurture.

In my case, I completely blame my mom. She packed me up and shipped me off to Chile for a summer when I was only 14. I studied abroad for three months and after that I never felt satisfied staying in one place. My dad loves to travel as well. And in S.’s case, well, his parents are homebodies now, but waaaaay back in the day before they got to near retirement age, they actually met while studying abroad in France. S. and I must both have some strong travelers DNA if that’s what causes the need to globe trot! And our poor future kids…they’re doomed to a life of restlessness.

Of course, they say financial resources are also an issues. Money is a factor in everything these days. Not many people in Chile can afford to travel and even in the U.S. it’s not like every single middle class family is able to pay for a luxury backpacking trip through Europe and South America. But, I still wonder about that…because I know tons of people who have way more money than I do, yet they’d rather put a down payment on a house, buy a nice car and have a pair of Louboutin’s and a few Louis Vuitton handbags in their closet. It’s all about priorities.

I also know people who could also afford travel but have probably never even contemplated it because they’d rather spend their whole lives living inside their comfort zone. For me, that’s not easy to understand. My whole life I’ve spent wondering what else is out there in the big bad world.

Is it genes? Is it the way you were raised? Is it money? Maybe it’s a little of both. We’ll probably never know, I doubt that finding a cure for the travel bug is a high priority on scientists’ to do list. That’s certainly ok with me

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