Yet again, it’s been quite awhile since I have contributed to this blog so here is my super brief recap: Over the past year I have been working at a media agency in downtown SF. In short, my team places digital ad’s for iTunes. I have learned a lot, built my resume, gained exposure to the advertising industry, and became financially independent. All those things I am super grateful for, however overtime it became evident that I wanted something different. In July I made the bold decision to give my company a months notice. Contradicting my plan to never quit before I had something lined up, I did exactly that.
This post is not about why I decided to move on, or go in detail about my work experience and corporate ambitions (I’ll save that for my CV). Instead I want to talk about the feelings that came from the decision, and my exciting - albeit extremely short term - plan.
I love the feeling of working in a big city, being a part of the hustle and bustle, and contributing to the business world; so let me be clear, I will go back to this. However, I made a decision that for the time being I was going to kick corporate predictability to the door and embrace spontaneity (something very foreign to me).
For the past year, every day has been pretty much the same: wake up early, embrace the smell of the armpit in front of me on the BART train, attempt to get a morning work out in, squeeze in a Starbucks run, run into the elevator and press “7”. Floor 7 in one of the many buildings on Market Street is where I have spent my 9-6, embracing the same routine, and same tasks day after day. Part of me enjoyed the predictability. Being established in my own place with good roommates, being comfortable with the area, and having the security of a job brought a sense of establishment that I was craving. For most of our adult lives I feel that everyone clings to that sense of establishment. Yet, despite the perks of this kind of lifestyle, joy should be ones real focus. I’m not talking the feeling where every day one wakes up smiling and shouting “I love my job”, but instead the feeling of being in a field that you want to be in and living the life you know you were meant to lead. So in the pursuit of this sometimes I think its time to forgo predictability and welcome the unknown. To be blunt, I found myself in a rut this past year running through the motions of a job I knew wasn't right for me. I made the decision that I did to focus of finding a job that better aligns with what I want to do. Even in times of uncertainty, being career driven as I am, I know that great feeling of establishment will come back. Yet outside of building experience, why waste time settling for something that doesn’t help foster the joy we are all meant to live?
I don’t know where I am going to be, what exactly I am going to be doing, and what my next paycheck will look like. What I do know is that I am going to take advantage of the time I have off, while still working hard to find my next job. With that said, I made probably the most spontaneous decision of my life: to visit Africa! Overnight, I made plans and booked tickets to go to Rwanda for two weeks. The opportunity presented itself to visit a good friend of mine who has been working at an orphanage in Kigali. The timing was right, I evaluated my financial situation, and I figured if not now, then when? So yes, I will be leaving for Rwanda the evening of my last day at work. I will have the opportunity to not only explore Rwanda, but to experience and learn about the work that is being done at this orphanage. This is something I never thought I would do. Yes, it's only two weeks but I'm still stoked for the experience. Some people may think I’m crazy for my seemingly rash decision…I’m simply doing something I feel is right, and if that is “crazy” then so be it.
Over the coming weeks, expect the travel blog to be reborn as I share stories from my time in AFRICA! Hopefully, I’ll eventually be able to share where I am going to be working next too :)
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