Introducing Me: amyinautumn // Nude Model by Day, Kindergarten Teacher by Night

Hello Steemit. My name is Amy and I'm new here.

I'm in the process of forging and floating through my third decade of life. I want to be an entertainer, a leatherworker, an artist, an underwater welder, a writer, a Spanish speaker, a computer person, a camera woman, an activist. I assure you, the list goes on. However, I'm just human, so I only do some of these things. But I do my best and I pretty much never get bored.

I live in a brownstown apartment, filled with music-makers and personal treasures collected from my lives before, facing a park. I sit and I watch dogs being walked there from my living room windows - in a big red papasan chair, drinking coffee, writing songs, procrastinating, etcetera. This is noteworthy, me watching the world go by, only because for several years before now, I've always been the one moving and leaving and going by.

I taught English in South Korea in 2015. It's safe to say I lived for moments like these, when students made pinecone hearts to stand in.

In recent years, I've lived/traveled/worked in South Korea, Spain, and New Zealand - all for different motivations - including money, love, newness, and escapism. Somehow, all those steps have landed me here, in a sometimes very cold place called Minneapolis. It's a city I'm in love with, yet never in a million years thought I would call home .

I do a number of odd-jobs and passions to make my humble living. Most recently, I've been posing nude for artists all over the Twin Cities. They recreate the intricate details of my figure on paper with varied strokes of watercolor, pencil, charcoal, and paints. They revere and appreciate my body's rounded mounds of tissue and the milky skin that covers it.
My 14 to 27-year-old self would've never believed someone could find those things beautiful.

!

See the resemblance?

My other main source of income: teaching English to adorable kids in China via the web. I work for a Chinese company called VIPKID and I absolutely love it. My hours start anywhere from 8pm to 3:30am and I finish around sunrise - when the buildings around the park turn pink and my living room windows start to shimmer in a certain way that only lasts for about 20 minutes.

As for passions.....I'm a singer. My voice is how I can best tap into my soul's juices and leak them out into the world. Singing certain Cat Power songs is the easiest way to make myself cry. Way back when, that role was filled by Celine Dion, then Mariah Carey, and many, many more. I'm currently in a band with my talented, tech-y lover, @kindstranger . We call our project Bathing Belles.

Here's a snippet of one of the first songs I ever wrote:

In short, I'm happy where I am. It's where I told myself I wanted to be a few months ago. That feels good. I make my own work hours and manage my perfect combination of stability and freedom. I'm surrounded by art and music almost always, and I have lots to share and learn from everyone here in the Steemit community. I'm following a few of my besties into the Steemit world: @kindstranger @jessandthesea @fictions @wolfcat . They all inspire me severely, so check them out.

Me, so happy to finally be here!

If you'd like to hear an original song, check out my first Steemit Open Mic submission ;)