1 year. 6 months. 16 days.
That’s how much time has passed since my last blog post. I don’t take pride in this. When I start something, I follow it through to the end. That includes running a race through a knee injury, watching an awful indie flick, and a sub-par bottle of beer. Unfortunately life, and a lot of challenges, got in the way. So even though I wasn’t writing about it, I was tackling a number of obstacles.
After returning from a 10 day trip to Italy, I learned my grandmother had been placed in hospice care and didn’t have much time left. Within a week, she was gone. I felt so much guilt for leaving her, wishing I had stayed to hear her final words of wisdom. But I had to move past it, and fast, because I was moving to New York City to start what was supposed to be an amazing internship that led to a job.
Well, it didn’t. But two internships later, I finally found the dream job: writing for a pop culture website. I loved my co-workers, my daily duties, and even the location. I could see myself there for a while. Sadly some financial issues required the company to cut about half of their staff, including me. So on to the next job.
After months of unemployment, I landed a job at a toy magazine. “Cool,” I thought. “I could play with and review toys all day.” Too bad to them, the title of editorial assistant meant answering phones and making coffee. Not exactly what I went to school to study. Despite the free toys (a fabulous perk for a babysitter), I hated the job and had to find something new.
And I did, as an editor for a parenting website. Another job that suited me well given my editorial experience and work with children. Again, however, I lost the job due to financial difficulties. I really hate that whole “last one hired, first one fired” concept. Whatever happened to managing money better so no one gets fired?
So here I am in the same situation I’ve been in before: unemployed with too much time on my hands. But rather than feel sorry for myself, I plan on turning this negative obstacle into a positive opportunity. Each day (or maybe every other day, because those job apps won’t fill out themselves), I plan on challenging myself – be it big or small – and writing about it for my “fans.” Maybe it will inspire others to challenge themselves. Maybe it will get me noticed by a major magazine. Maybe it will just be fun. Either way, I’m looking forward to this second chance at blogging and, maybe, a second chance to find out what I’m really meant to do.
Challenged and Excited,
Leah
