Oh-Poor-You!

We are bound to believe that there is an age for everything, an age for success, failure, happiness, breakdown, marriage, parenthood, and the list goes up from here. What if we let go of those age traps? What if we live by our own clock? A whirlwind of questions ran through my head for so long that I had to stop at some point and assess the damage I’ve endured.  

I changed careers at 30. Some might laugh at the idea that ‘oh it is not a big deal’, and some might look down on me and be like “oh poor you”, and maybe, just maybe, some might actually relate and understand the journey.  

I have worked since 2010 in sales and marketing and the last marketing job I had was with a multinational company which included traveling and event management, fun stuff!  Yet I had a void that I couldn’t explain. Did I choose the wrong major? What am I doing wrong? Why am I not progressing like that person? Why am I not fulfilled? I’m already 28 and still have no idea what I’m doing! Am I the only one? I felt like a loser. I felt lost. I felt empty. 

During 2020, yes, the year the whole world went bonkers, I had a huge change in my life. I quit my job, got married, moved to Africa, and of course got hooked in the spiral of covid, lock down, and curfew. I spent 2 years after that unemployed for the first time in 10 years, and that made me feel like crap! But I embraced the change and decided to take the time to find what I really want to do, what I really want to work in and what path do I want to join. After many trials and errors, research, and by just listening to my inner self I found it. I stepped back from the corporate world and technology and chose something that a lot might find basic, but it is what it is. I chose to contribute to people’s lives by teaching adults English as a second language. I’m still discovering this new path, it is vast, yet it is MY path. Whatever it takes, be it 2 years or 5 years, I don’t care anymore. I care about doing things at my own pace and my own timing. I decided to look around and admire what people younger or older do but not allow it to break me or define me. I define my own path and I define my own time to succeed. Trust me, it is so relieving to live at your own pace without worrying if you’re too old or too young. 

This is it, that’s my story. Cheers to your own pace in life. Cheers to change.