If you're new here, you may want to subscribe. Thanks for visiting!

If I have so many choices, than why the hell does this box feel like it’s getting smaller and smaller?

It’s time to bust out.

If you’re anything like me, you are a 20-something female that has an incessant need to feed your creative passions. Unfortunately for you, the things you love just don’t seem to mesh well with your job description. Personally and professionally, there is a gap—a gap that’s leaving much to be desired. Something is missing, but you’re not really quite sure of how to fix it.

You have bills to pay, but you’re tired of your completely unfulfilling job that pays them. You feel stuck. Trapped. So what do you do? Do you put your passions on the backburner lest make them hobbies? Or, do you bypass momentary stability to take a chance on what you love?

Choices do not exist without chances and vice versa. When making a choice, one is inevitably taking a risk, or a chance on the decision made. Opportunities are not just given to us, but created by us. Although it is difficult to find the time to create opportunities in an area of interest when daunting over car insurance and rent money, it’s not impossible.

Maybe there’s a class you’d like to take, an area of curiosity you’d like to explore, or a city you’d like to move to. I am here to tell you, you are not choice-less.  Maybe it’s time you stop muddying up every excuse “why” and start asking, “why not?”Have you ever even given yourself the chance to discover what you love? Or maybe the things that you love have changed. Maybe you’ve changed. Maybe it’s time for a change.

It’s cliché but life is not a destination, it’s a journey, and the journey is yours for the taking. The only thing that’s standing between you and your dreams is some degree of fear and uncertainty. Spin your fear into determination. If you want something badly enough for yourself, you can make it happen. I know because I did it.

Storytime.

I was always the girl who had it all figured out. I declared my major early and headed strongly in that direction, never taking the time to explore other areas that I excelled in or enjoyed. Fast forward a few years and I’m in graduate school—unsure and uncertain, though my pride would never let it show. It took a series of complicated and unfortunate circumstances for me to get a wake-up call, but when I did, a beautiful thing happened—I became very brave. I stopped trying to prove myself to everyone else, and concentrated solely on the things that inspired me. It blows my mind to think of how dark situations can yield so much light. I realized how short life is and how utterly devastating it would be to spend my days dissatisfied and unhappy. So I did something about it.

I dropped out of graduate school and moved home. I spent the following months freelance writing and pursuing my personal interests while still working two jobs. I knew I needed to “find my niche”. On my days off I’d drive almost 3 hours to New York City to pass out my resume, and apply for internships and jobs. I reenrolled in graduate school in a program where my personal and professional goals would be happily married. The point is, I worked my ass off—and it paid off.

Stability is useless without happiness. Follow your dreams. It won’t happen overnight. You won’t get instant gratification. It will take time, effort, and dedication. You are going to meet obstacles and setbacks. It’s not going to be an easy road. There will be a lot of people telling you that you can’t do it, but you can, and the only person that needs to believe in you, is YOU. It was Walt Disney who said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”  I couldn’t agree more.

Make the choice to take a chance. Baby steps! Any step! Take a step—YOU DESERVE IT.

Share this Post!