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entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. From PRX, this is The Moth Radio Hour.

I'm your host, Michelle Jelowski.

As a kid, I remember being surprised all the time.

I had my mind blown on a regular basis.

But as I get older and arguably more dated about the world, the less things seem to shock me.

But surprises are important.

They add curiosity and wonder and excitement to the world.

Surprises make us vulnerable.

They make us say, I didn't know this would happen,

or I was not prepared for this. But if we knew

everything all along, how interesting would life be really? In this hour, stories of surprises,

good and bad. Our first story shared at one of our open mic story slams in Pittsburgh,

where we partnered with public radio station WESA, definitely made life interesting for our storyteller.

Live from the Rex Theater, here is Jesse.

Last name redacted to protect the innocent.

Hello.

So my junior year of college, I studied abroad halfway across the world

in Kathmandu, Nepal. And my boyfriend at the time was in Washington, D.C.

...