Valerie Brandon:
CLASS OF 1984
Wolfson High SchoolClass of 1984
Jacksonville, FL
University of Florida - BusinessClass of 1988
Gainesville, FL
Hendricks Methodist Day SchoolClass of 1981
Jacksonville, FL
Valerie's Story
Life
After high school, my dad planned for me to attend the Coast Guard Academy and I wanted to become a professional dancer. So, we compromised. I went to U of F and became a cheerleader. I had a lot of fun, but I wasn't very focused on a career path at that point in my life. I graduated in '88 with a business degree and no clue of what I wanted to do. So, I backpacked around Europe for a couple of months with a friend from college.
When I returned from Europe, I stayed with my parents who had relocated from Jacksonville to Lake Wales (which is also in FL, in case you've never heard of it). I lived and worked there for a couple of months and was bored out of my mind. The boredom coupled with a rather controlling father prompted a move to New York City. I somehow got a job managing The Heartbreak Hotel in Hunter, NY. It was located in a small ski town and was really more of a night club than a hotel. One of my jobs as the hotel manager was to drive the inebriated express bus which picked up the drunken skiers from apres ski and herded them over to one of our nightclubs where they could continue to party til 4am. (If you thought frat parties got out of hand at U of F this was a whole new level of insanity to discover.) At the time I thought it was a good way to have some fun and earn a little income while I was interviewing for jobs in the city. On New Year's eve of that year(1989), I decided I'd had enough and gave about an hours notice before taking off in the back of a big yellow Ryder truck and heading to Colorado with a small ski tour. At that time they were known as the World Pro Mogul tour. The group was based out of Denver and had decided to really promote and expand their tour that year. They added two east coast events to their schedule. One was held in Killington, VT and the other in Hunter, NY. It was just a stroke of luck. I always felt like they'd rescued me, whereas the small town of Hunter had apparently determined that they had kidnapped me. Regardless, I graciously worked for the tour for the rest of the ski season doing local promotions, helping with registration, concession sales or whatever odd job needed ...Expand for more
to be done. After the tour ended, I found myself in Snowbird, Utah and was once again confused about what to do and where to go. I ended up hitching a ride to California after speaking with a friend that I had met in Greece. (One of my favorite places, and where I had spent the most time during my 3 month backpacking adventure in Europe, was on the Greek island of Santorini.) My friend had been encouraging me to come out to Maui for a visit. I wasn't really thrilled with the idea. I had been to Oahu two years prior for the Aloha Bowl, where U of F had been slaughtered by UCLA, and I wasn't very impressed with what I thought was going to be a tropical paradise and that, in fact, looked more like L.A. floating in the middle of the Pacific. My friend, who had lived in Maui for 12 years, insured me that the outer islands were really different from Oahu. He said that I should just come to "thaw out" for a while and offered to pay my way from CA. That sounded like a pretty good deal. So off I went.
After arriving in Maui, I decided it really wasn't that bad after all. And I think I've almost "thawed out" after being here for almost seventeen years now. I still, however, have not figured out what I want to do when I grow up, which I am not so sure even happens here. I've had numerous jobs/careers since I've been in Maui and have often worked 2 or more jobs at once in order to afford the high cost of living here. I still haven't quite settled on anything and the list just keeps getting longer and longer. I've worked as: a waitress, a substitute teacher, an aerobics teacher, a fitness center supervisor, a concierge, and a massage therapist. I am currently a firefighter for Maui County and have been in this career for almost seven years (a record for me.) Oh yeah, I've been a mom for the past 3 years, which has been my most rewarding experience to date. I am also getting really sick of writing so I hope someone actually reads these things and gets a little amusement from my crazy life. That's it for now. I hope that you, whoever you are, and wherever you are, are doing well and having fun. Much aloha to you and your family.
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