Evergreen and Harbor

Starting new ventures is always daunting and exhilarating – the big ideas come fast but how do you actually GET there? Baby steps. Trying. Ignoring any self doubt or negative thoughts you have (especially the ‘why bother?’ ones). The road to following a dream is winding and tough to stay on.

I’ve always tended to be shy and nervous in social situations while growing up. I’ve desperately wanted to be confident and charismatic. I wanted the group of friends who get together regularly, or to have the patience to cook up something fun yet sophisticated and claim ‘Oh, this? I just whipped it up!’ That’s what I felt adulthood would be like based on sitcoms and movies. As I grew, I didn’t get the FRIENDS-esque social dynamic of my dreams, but my organization skills and attention to detail became a strong character trait – and eventually served me well in my career and volunteer efforts. And while recently fighting burnout and navigating pretty mega life changes, I have found joy in creating fun get togethers with my best friends. Themes, decor, food, bevs, gifts… taking a variety of ideas and merging them into one cohesive vision, then hunting down the right items and seeing it all put together was the most fun for me. That ended up being what I looked forward to thinking about after a long physically, mentally, and emotionally draining day in order to wind down (and maybe feel like a real person again).

I quickly realized that these traits and that passion are exactly what I can lean on to make a big career shift. It took a lot of reflection and research but I found that working in events would fit me – I wanted whatever work I did to feel like an extension of myself and provide a positive impact on my day-to-day home life as well. It felt (and still feels) like creating memorable moments that bring people together is where my creative mind and need for work can coexist harmoniously. Now is the perfect time to stretch my comfort zone, lean in to my skills, and dream bigger than I ever had.

Now, I’m staring down that long and daunting road to get to my new goal. I know that there is a lot of learning and growth that will come along the way. I’m trying to make it feel less scary by focusing on tangible pitstops along the way, almost like mini-milestones that will collectively build on each other to get me to the destination marked on the map. There will be obstacles along the way (probably myself mostly), but I know that I can handle it — but I have my own version of roadside assistance on speed dial just in case.