An American woman living in Paris has marked her six-year anniversary in the country by revealing the brutal realities of living her dream.
Amanda Rollins, who is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to Europe in 2017, took to TikTok to reel off a list of problems she had been forced to overcome.
The issues included having six phones pickpocketed, thwarting an ‘attempted kidnapping’ and visiting the hospital up to five times.
Nonetheless, the 33-year-old still encouraged others to take the plunge as she said the experience is ‘priceless.’
Amanda Rollins, who is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to Europe in 2017, took to TikTok to reel off a list of problems she had been forced to overcome
The issues included having six phones pickpocketed, thwarting an ‘attempted kidnapping’ and visiting the hospital up to five times
In the clip, which has so far been viewed more than 811,000 times, Amanda speaks directly to camera as she candidly shares her thoughts.
She begins: ‘Today is my six-year anniversary of moving to Paris and I want to share some thoughts with you.
‘There are four pregnant bellies that I never got to touch and seven newborns that I never got to hold. Four funerals I wasn’t able to attend and dozens of birthday parties I couldn’t be present at.
‘I have famously had six cellphones pickpocketed, I had an Uber driver try to kidnap me, I was assaulted at the Louvre by like 14 guys, and I had my drink drugged with something on the Seine.
‘I’ve gone to the police station to fill out police reports five times and I visited the hospital five times.
‘A French person has made me cry at least 100 times and I have been told “c’est pas possible” when it was possible at least 500 times.’
Amanda continues: ‘If you move abroad, you will miss everything at home. You will miss events, births, weddings and funerals.
‘You will spend countless days feeling lost, not knowing anything about life, feeling stupid. You will be discriminated against simply for being an immigrant and be treated like a second class citizen.
But, nonetheless, the 33-year-old still encouraged others to take the plunge as she said the experience is ‘priceless’
In the clip, which has so far been viewed more than 811,000 times, Amanda speaks directly to camera as she candidly shares her thoughts
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‘You will make new friends and then they will move away. You won’t be able to express yourself the way you want to and you’ll find yourself constantly thinking “I’m so much smarter in English, I’m so much funnier in English, they have no idea.”‘
But the issues do not stop there as the social media star adds: ‘You’ll think you are fluent in the language and then find out that you’re not and then you’ll think you’re really, really fluent this time – but no, you’re still not.
‘You’ll have to relearn everything you know about how life works and it’s going to suck – but do it anyways.’
Amanda then pivots her thoughts to why people should move regardless of the extensive list she just set out.
She said that she has lived in three different apartments, acquired a new cat and ‘had the most intense relationship of my life.’
Sadly, she reveals that it led to ‘the worst break-up of my life’ but nonetheless said: ‘I’ve created an entire new sisterhood of women that are smart and caring and just incredible that I am so lucky to surround myself with them.’
Not stopping there, Amanda said: ‘I’ve had four jobs and I’ve been fired from one of them which is really scary when you live abroad and I completely changed my career.’
She noted that she now boasts more than 725,000 follows on TikTok and claimed to have helped ‘millions of people with their trips to Paris.’
Concluding her candid speech, Amanda states: ‘Most importantly I can look myself in the mirror and say that I have done everything I have always wanted to do’
‘I’ve gone to at least 40 concerts, done 100 picnics, eaten 500 baguettes and drank a million bottles of wine,’ she adds.
‘I’ve travelled to 35 countries and I think I finally understand French culture. I’ve done things I said I would never do and I have changed my mind about subjects that I would have to war for in the past.
‘I’ve learnt that your beliefs are not stagnant and inherent – they’re just beliefs, they’re relative to your environment and they can change.’
Concluding her candid speech, Amanda states: ‘Most importantly I can look myself in the mirror and say that I have done everything I have always wanted to do. There’s no secret dream looming in the back of my mind that I’m saving for a later date.
‘That doesn’t exist because I’ve done all of them and that feeling… is what they write stories about, that’s what movies are about. People wish they could bottle that up and sell it…
‘The only way to have that feeling is to take the leap yourself. For me, Paris is the happiest place on Earth and it’s where I belong but maybe your place is somewhere else.’
She finishes the clip with a rousing statement of: ‘If there is something you want to do in life just f***ing do it, because if not you will spend the rest of your life regretting it and I promise you the feeling of being able to look yourself in the mirror and say that you did it is priceless.’
