Monica in Madrid | The Backstory
“There’s a lot to be said about pursuing your true passion,” read a comment on one of my first social media posts announcing the launch of Monica Veles Photography. I replied back to my mom’s cousin Lorenzo and I thought about what he said. Pursuing a true passion isn’t always easy and sadly, many people don’t do it. That comment is years old now, but I still think about it. I think the same thing applies to following other dreams in life.
Maybe it’s the Enneagram 7 in me, but I’ve always wanted to do exciting things and create a life I can look back on and be proud of. Whether it’s a big dream or a small dream, I’ll find a way to at least try to go after it. Like starting a photography business — and hey, I’m heading into year 4 this year and I still have lots to accomplish, but we’re getting there! Another big dream? Living in Spain.
When that dream began, I don’t exactly remember, but it’s been years and was likely inspired by the Spanish classes I took from 8th grade through junior year of college, my desire to improve my Spanish speaking skills, and I think my Hispanic roots play a role in wanting to learn more about other Spanish-speaking cultures (I’m half Mexican, half Puerto Rican, or Mexi-Rican as my family says). At some point last year I told myself, “in 2024, I will go to Spain.” How exactly I was going to accomplish that, I wasn’t sure, but then again isn’t that how goals always begin?
So my Type A personality (hello, I was named after Monica Geller, after all) did what I always do with goals and anything on my to-do list — I had to break it down. The most basic outline was like this:
Goal: Live in Spain
What I’m looking for:
Not just a short vacation in Spain — I want to stay for 1-3 months (can’t stay longer than 90 days without a visa)
A situation where I can improve my Spanish speaking skills
A living situation where I will feel safe
And so, the idea of being an au pair in Madrid, Spain for a few months came into play. (Wondering what an au pair is? Here’s a quick explanation: an adult, typically between 18-30 who provides childcare for a host family as part of an international cultural exchange.) In my case, being an au pair would mean living with a Spanish family, helping take care of the children and interacting with them in English. It also means being immersed in Spanish culture through working with a Spanish family and having time to explore the surrounding areas.
Being an au pair checked off the “what I’m looking for” portion of my goals. 1.) I’d have the opportunity to stay for a while (I’ll be there from early February until late April), 2.) I’ll be in a Spanish-speaking country so I’ll have opportunities to practice Spanish, and 3.) I’ll be living with a family that has been vetted through a credible website and has past au pairs who can vouch for their legitimacy.
I did a ton of research on what website to go through to become an au pair, safety precautions to take when traveling alone and watched lots of videos of people sharing their au pair experiences. In late December 2023, I made an account on AuPairWorld. I was a little nervous, so I didn’t do anything with it for a few weeks. Eventually, I decided that just being nervous isn’t reason enough for me to not do something.
By early January, I found families I was interested in working with, set my nerves aside and messaged them. It took a while to hear back, but eventually I exchanged messages with a few families and ultimately found one I really felt would be a good match. I did a couple of video calls with my potential host mom, spoke with a couple of her past au pairs to learn more about working with the family (and make sure they were nice, normal people, of course), and booked a flight to Madrid! It was a bit of a whirlwind with it all coming together in just a few weeks.
As nerve-wracking as it all was, I knew I had to do this because here’s the thing about my perspective on life (yes, we’re getting that deep). Have you ever had people older than you say, “when I was your age I wish I…[insert travel aspirations, career goals, etc.]” or something to that effect? I remember hearing that when I was younger and thinking, I don’t want to say that when I’m older. I want to say, “when I was your age I did X, Y, and Z, and I hope you can too!” I want to look back on my life and be proud of the life I’ve made and hopefully inspire at least one person along the way to do the same. I also think my generation and the ones following have many more opportunities than past generations once did, especially in this digital world.
Here’s the next layer of my perspective. When I was 17 and in high school, I lost a good friend in a tragic car accident. 6 months later, my cousin unexpectedly passed away. It was a heartbreaking period of my life to say the least, and I quickly realized that we’re not guaranteed any length of time in this life. People say “life is short” but when that reality hit the way it did for me, I really understood. It’s easy to take time for granted, but there’s something about experiencing losing young people in your life that puts things in a different perspective.
When that cliché but harsh reality that life is short hit, I knew I really wanted to make the most of my life. For me, that’s meant going after the things I’m passionate about. Sure, something like going to Spain isn’t the craziest thing in the world, but it’s my dream and I have to see it through. I had the same perspective with starting a photography business. I figured I could start a business and it could go well or it could fail miserably, but I knew I had to at least try. I’d rather fail than never try at all and wonder how it would’ve ended up. On the same note, I could go to Spain and have a terrible time…but there’s only one way to find out how it’ll go.
Now here’s the thing: I fully recognize that not everyone is in a situation where they can start a business or travel to another country, and I don’t think that’s something everyone needs to do. What I do want to stress is that time spent pursuing things you’re passionate about is never time wasted. You don’t have to do something grand and life-changing, but I genuinely hope you can get even one step closer to doing the things you love. After all, “there’s a lot to be said about pursuing your true passions.”
Abrazos,
Monica
P.S. If you’re reading this, Lorenzo, thank you for your support and following along on my photography business journey. It means so much!