Mission Statement

What do I know? I know the ground under my feet, the roof over my head, and a nuclear group of friends and family. I know that I will have beautiful children who will reside in countless locations across the universe and that they will learn how to be in life opposed to simply getting through it. At 19 years old though, I am in no position to impede on the growth of anyone, let alone a child when I have not grown enough myself. I feel as though to grow is to learn that you are one out of very many, and that the world spreads far beyond the threshold of your front door. That is what I plan to do, experience the far beyond and encounter the very many while abandoning the comfort zone I have created over the last 19 years. My name is Chloe Zola. I was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota in seemingly untraditional circumstances. To my friends, peers, and classmates, the artistic lifestyle of my parents has always seemed unrealistic and unconventional. We do not go to church, save our money, or hide our emotions; instead we "Christmas" in the tropics, buy nice things, and scream... quite a bit. My split-level family, as I refer to them is composed of a spirited mother always looking for a new creative adventure, a Jewish father finding his calling in art and Ebay, a Bajan stepfather who appreciates life's simplicities, and four beautiful children resulting from our parent's rollercoaster lifestyle.



































I have been raised to appreciate good food, creative thought, big families, and movement, in every sense of the word. I have lived under 11 fabulous roofs and traveled to numerous states and countries. All of this has brought me to where I am now, college. A "holding ground" according to some, a concept I have come to despise. Why be held for upward of 4 years in one location, focusing on one area of study? Especially in this "economic crisis" the idea of college in my mind seems more and more ridiculous every day. For a surgeon or an architect, I can see how endless hours inside a 4 million page book might be necessary and somewhat rewarding, but for someone who is passionate about art and writing...how can my work live to it's fullest potential inside the four walls of a professor's grading scale? I have not failed out of college, or been rejected all together, in fact I have experienced the exact opposite. I attend an accredited private University on soccer and academic scholarship. During my freshmen year I was offered scholarship money to join the ranks of an art major as well as highly encouraged to follow my talent in writing to a masters program out east. I am not saying this to brag but to explain that my motivation to drop out of college stems far beyond the resentment of a failed student. I fear that if I continue living in my comfort zone and become accustom to praise from one group of people, my scope on life will soon shrink and lose the urge to grow and learn. I recently read an article about the "Gypset movement":

Gypset (Gypsy+jet set) is about an emerging group of artists, musicians, fashion designers, surfers, and bon vivants– who lead semi-nomadic, unconventional lives. They are people I’ve met–or been inspired by– in my travels who have perfected a high-low approach to life that fuses the freelance and nomadic wile of a gypsy with the sophistication and global references of the jet set. Its an alternative way of
traveling and living that’s based more on creativity then money.

www.gypset.com

Either this article caught me in a vital time of transitional thought, or the idea simply pulled at all the right heart strings, but I am inspired to live a similar lifestlye. I will not be known as a college drop-out but a "Gypset" drop-in if you will. A "drop-in" on the happenings in the rest of the world opposed to that of my neighborhood all the while learning the necessary tools to be successful.



“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard