Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Easy-Peasy, Life Was Breezy

Once upon a time, life was easy. Or at least this is what I think now because at the moment, life is hard.

I moved to New York City at 23 with a dollar and a dream. OK, I had more than $1 but not by much. What I did have was drive and ambition. I had hunger. And I had optimism. The early years of relentlessly harassing people (in a nice way) so I could get my foot in the fashion industry door, the late nights at the office proving myself and climbing up the ladder, the years of having 2 and 3 jobs. They all seem so distant now, so easy because I don't think about them and I forgot how hard it was at the beginning.

What I remember is how much simpler it was from the middle on. At some point you make enough money at your real job to not have to work another one. Projects come easier than they used to, you get jobs via referrals and word of mouth. Most of the time you don't even need to interview anymore. At least I didn't. I guess I should have enjoyed it more while I had it so good.

A while back on a regular day, while doing a regular mundane thing, I realized I had been in San Diego for 5 months and hadn't accomplished most of the things I had thought I would. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Did it put a fire under my ass to get things moving? Yes. Did it also cause 1 mini-meltdown per week since then? That would be yes. I have been trying to conquer the voice in my head that all too often says: "I didn't do enough, I didn't research grad schools enough, I haven't gotten anywhere. I don't have a job, I need a job. What if this whole thing doesn't work out??"

Multiply that intensity x10 to get a feel for how frantic I really get.

Moving across the country this time around is so different. I had lofty thoughts and noble ideas about a new career and how to get there. I see myself there. I imagine my life 5 years from now and professionally I am where I want to be. But actually getting there is proving to be more difficult than I expected. At the moment, my efforts are not yielding any tangible results and getting there seems so far away.

4 comments:

Lori Lavender Luz said...

I don't have any words of advice (except that I know you'll eventually succeed and that maybe things are already in the works but you just don't know it yet) but I want you to know I'm here cheering you on toward your goals.

XO

Ziggy said...

Ooh, maybe you're right, in fact I really like that statement and I do think you're right; things are already in the works but you just don't know it yet. Thank you :)

Abufares said...

I'm so sorry Ziggy to be so late in replying to your comment on my blog. I really just found out about it for reasons I explained in my reply there.
Thank you for your beautiful writing here on your own blog, a warm, cozy and magically simple place :-)

Ziggy said...

Thank you dear Abu Fares. Coming from an excellent blogger and writer, that is quite the compliment :)