My Story

Well – I’m in Italy!

For the next two years, I will be living in a small town near Milan and getting my masters in Sustainable Viticulture and Enology. This was such a big decision, but it was also the easiest one I have ever made. When I was a junior in college, I attended a lecture during Hospitality Week. A woman who had graduated from WSU in Hospitality Business Management (just like me) was the speaker, and she was sharing all the life experience that led her to become the CEO of a luxury hotel chain. She was incredible. “I’m going to be honest with you. I started out at the very bottom, but every time I was offered a new position, I said yes. That’s how I got to where I am today, I hardly had to do anything but work and wait. Just say yes”. Since then, I’ve pounded on some doors that stayed shut, and I’ve walked straight through doors that I would've never thought to open. When I was accepted into this English-speaking program and gifted a scholarship in Italy, I couldn’t turn it down.

Moving abroad has been a dream of mine for longer than I can remember. Maybe because I have some amazing grandparents who have lived all over the world in places like Morocco, Italy, Poland, and China. Maybe because I grew up thinking there was no cooler job than being a missionary. Maybe because I have had some amazing exchange students stay with my family. Maybe it’s because I don’t like sitting still. Maybe it’s because my best friend is from Colombia, and I want to be more like her. I really don’t know why, but it’s been a desire of mine for years.

When I started college six years ago (yikes – time flies) I had no idea what I wanted to do. When people asked me, I would say something like “I don’t know, but I don’t want to get married till I’m thirty. I want to travel and live life, then I want to come back and open a non-profit coffee shop or do ministry”. Sounds like a cool plan, right? Throughout my time at WSU my priorities shifted. I forgot about my wild dreams and became more “practical” in a sense. I wanted to graduate, step into a career, and get married right away. My dreams were still in the back of my mind, but I had decided to push them aside.

I unexpectedly fell in love with wine on a Food, Wine, and Culture tour of France and Italy, led by some of my Hospitality Business Management professors at Washington State. I enjoyed learning about wine, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I had always hated the question “what is your passion?” I didn’t know! I like traveling but I don’t do it often. I like golf but only when the weather is decent. I like to cook but I would rather shave my head than work in a kitchen. Finally, at the age of 21, it clicked: wine is my passion. I love how it ties together a meal, I love how it is meant to be savored, I love the thought and intentionality that goes into making it. I started taking classes that focused on Wine and Beverage Business Management and I loved what I was learning.

Since then, life has been a whirlwind. I graduated during Covid and struggled to step into a real career. I became a Guest Service Associate (aka a waitress) at Chateau Ste Michelle and then after being furloughed three weeks later, at Siren Song Winery in Chelan, Washington. I spent eight months essentially living out of my car, bed surfing between family and friends’ houses. There was not a week between January and September that I slept in the same place the whole time. As a Type A gal, it was waring on me.

On July 23, 2021, I prayed for a change. I didn’t want to test God, but I was at my breaking point. I prayed for either a job offer or a place to live by July 27th. The next few days I spent a lot of time working, crying, and praying. On July 27th, I got a call out of the blue from my old YoungLife College director and ex-roommate. “Hey! Real Life Church wants to open a coffee shop, and I know you have a job you like, and when I mentioned it to you before you said no, but I just think you’d be the perfect person to start it up and run it. I was going to wait and ask you next week, but I’m driving to Seattle right now and felt like God said, ‘You need to ask her today’, so I’m asking. You only need to commit for a year”. I said “yes” ten minutes later.

At the age of 23 (by the grace of God), I had already accomplished my high-school dream of opening a non-profit coffee shop, and I had only been out of college for a year. I’d say it was unbelievable, but that word shows a lack of faith. It’s believable because it’s God. I did nothing but surrender my life and plan to Him, and He blessed me by using me to be a part of His plan. He gave me my heart’s desire, resources, and an amazing community to guide me.

I spent a year in Pullman, but I missed the wine industry, so I started looking for jobs. I applied for seven jobs and got seven interviews. Before my first interview, my mom told me to write down a list of what I wanted in a job. “I already know what I want, I don’t need to” I had grumbled to her. “Just write it down” she said back.

- Room to move up in the company

- A knowledgeable boss

- The ability to study to become a sommelier

- BONUS: They know of a cheaper place for me to live

All the boxes on my list were checked, and a month later my car was packed and I was driving to my studio apartment in Bend, Oregon. I loved my time in Bend. My apartment was in the coolest location ever, my boss was so kind and helpful, and I made some great friends. I liked who I was in Bend. I was trying things I’d always wanted to try but never had. I made it a goal to do something new every month. In January I tried a dating app (which I promptly deleted after going on the three dates I promised my cousin I’d go on). In February I learned to ski. In March I passed the Introductory Sommelier Exam. In April I ran a half-marathon. In May I (sort of) learned how to drive a stick shift. In June I pulled an all-nighter every week to read books. In July I moved. In August I moved again… to Italy. In September I’m going back to school, and who knows what adventures the next few months hold.

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) I’ll be honest – I have not done a great job of delighting in the Lord during many seasons of my life. I desire worldly things; I delight in worldly things all too often. BUT GOD can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), and He has in my life. He’s been faithful when I have not. I’m constantly overwhelmed when I think of the doors He has opened and closed to bring me to where I am today, and I cannot wait to see where He continues to guide me.

Cheers!

Annika