Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Quitting My Corporate Job During A Pandemic
I promise you, this is the millionth time I've created this blog post, over the years!!! I started this whole blogging, vlogging and most recently podcasting journey many years ago. And to tell you the truth, a lot of my own self doubt has held me back from fully pursuing this career path, oh, and consistency.
Before I get into the nitty gritty, let's take a trip down memory lane. Growing up I've always been a creative soul; thinking outside of the box and never really wanting to fit in. I give a lot of that credit to my Godmother and God-Aunts who always found the beauty in being unique and embracing it.
STORY TIME: I remember in Kindergarten getting in trouble for taking out the finger paints and making a painting instead of sitting quietly, waiting for the award ceremony. My Kindergarten teacher made me go to the award ceremony with hands full of paint and eyes full of tears, I should of known then that this creative journey was not going to be easy.
Growing up I loved the arts. I started Drama Club in the 5th grade all the way up to 12th. I would win all the Book Mobile Art competitions and would make sure to take all the art electives available to me. Creativity lived in my soul and I made sure to nourish it. But because I grew up in a not so good neighborhood with a Puerto Rican mother straight from the island, anything outside of normal school hours was out of the question. So I had to make do with what I had missing out on a lot of creative opportunities.
College, can you believe that I didn't declare my major until 2nd semester junior year. Most college students declare their major sophomore year even freshmen. I ended up majoring in Family and Child studies with a concentration in Family Services. Don't get me wrong, I love helping my community, teaching and providing resources but I also love fashion, beauty and traveling. Thinking back, I just wanted to make everyone proud especially as a first generation college students. For those who know exactly what they want, kuddos to you!
I had many dreams growing up, one was to be a teacher and the other was to work at Teen Vogue or Seventeen magazine; what exactly I wanted to do there, who knows! I just know I wanted to be inside of that beauty and fashion closet.
I started working in the corporate setting June of 2010 and officially quit July of 2020, in the middle of a global effin pandemic. Now you might be thinking, what the heck is wrong with you but I'm going to explain soon. Let me give you a little insight on the type of companies I was working for. Both of the companies were BILLION dollar companies, yes BILLION, while I was making $20 an hour. Something ain't right. Was I settling? ABSOLUTELY!!! Did I need a job to survive? YES! I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth and building that generational wealth starts with me.
Now this isn't a blog post to encourage you to quit your job, we all need a stream of income and 9-5s are essential, we have to be smart about this. My husband and I were able to pay off all of our credit card debt ($15,000 of it) which allowed us to make this decision. Do we still have more debt, yes, but we have a plan. And that's the key word, having a plan.
I remember when I finally decided to quit. I was working 6am-2 pm sometimes 3 pm, taking 1,000 customer service calls a month plus extra work on the side and *correction $19 an hour* that was draining my creative soul. The last call I got, the man was yelling at me for something that wasn't really my issue. Something finally clicked. Why am I building someone else's dream when I can use that same energy to create an opportunity for me.
2020 is the year. I can no longer live in fear of the what-ifs but in the possibilities.
I quit my job with no intentions of looking back. I'm ready to embrace success just as much as I'm ready to embrace failure.
For me; I've always downplayed my abilities, imposter syndrome lived right next door and I never allowed myself to just be. I'm excited for this new journey ahead. I'm excited to allow myself to create, learn, explore and be flawed. I'm excited to share my stories and story tell through writing, podcasting, photography, videos and more.
And if you're reading this blog post; I encourage you to start doing what fuels your soul, allow yourself the opportunity to experience joy and don't get in the way of your own possibilities. The world is abundant. Your journey will never look like anyone else's and that's the beauty of life.
Be you, the world needs you!
with love,
Vanessa
Hey There!
