Quarterlife Diaries: ‘What felt like the end of the world turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me’
In Quarterlife Diaries I take you weekly through all the things I, as a nearly 30-year-old, encounter. Mainly to vent my heart, but also to give everyone who is in the Quarterlife boat with me a little encouragement. You are definitely not alone. This week: finding your career path.
In the past few years, I made a mega career switch that I never expected to make. I had known my whole life what I wanted to do: work with children. After my studies, I went to work at a daycare where I had a great time. At least, in the beginning. I loved being busy all day with those sweet little people and built invaluable bonds with the children and their parents, but the work became heavy after a few years and the days seemed to get longer and longer.
Besides this job, I have always continued to write. This started as a teenager when I ran a fashion blog with (looking back) questionable fashion tips, and I also had a website where I wrote in a sort of public diary. Exactly what I am doing now. As a twenty-something, I let that passion for writing slide a bit. I was busy with work and studying and wondered who was really waiting for my stories. That changed when I was once sitting on the terrace with my friends. At that moment, we were all single and wondered if we were the only ones experiencing such bizarre first dates and having so much trouble finding love. This ignited the writer's spark in me and I decided to start a blog that was entirely focused on dating woes. I reported on my messy single life and the failed dates of my friends. I wrote with passion and joy about everything we experienced, and what turned out? We were far from the only ones struggling through the dating jungle. The blog became increasingly popular and was picked up by various platforms. I started to think more often whether this might suit me better than the job I had been doing for years.
Enthusiastically, I shared my success with my colleagues, who thought I shouldn't be so focused on my ‘side job’ and should concentrate on what I had trained for. Jokes like: ‘you should save that signature, it might be worth something someday’ when I signed for the groceries were poorly received to the point where we stood in direct opposition to each other. I was told that it was unrealistic to want something else now and that I should stop talking about my dreams, because what did I think I was going to achieve with that writing? It made me incredibly sad, and I still remember leaving the building in tears after that conversation.
With my hands in my hair and full of sadness, I sat at home on the couch. How could the people I had known for years begrudge me this? At that moment, that conversation felt like the end of the world and the worst thing that could ever happen to me; it hurt me so much. I only realized years later how completely wrong I was. That conversation had ignited a fire in me that has only burned stronger over the years. I thought to myself, I'll show you what I can achieve with that writing, while I dried my tears.
I changed jobs and ended up in a place where I was welcomed with open arms. A breath of fresh air, if you ask me. I worked four days a week at a high school and had one day a week left to build my writing dreams. From there, I built my own business and wrote in my free time as much as I could, until it was time to quit my permanent job and I could fully work as a freelance copywriter for fantastic clients I had never even dared to dream of. I have never been prouder of myself than at the moment I handed in my keys and stood completely on my own two feet. I had done it.
What I actually want to say is that you never immediately know whether something that happens to you is good or bad. That conversation that at the time felt like the end of the world turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. It helped me find my path and gave me the push to realize my writing dreams. Now I am doing better than ever and I have absolutely no regrets. Except that I didn't dare to take this leap earlier, but hey, you can't always roll a six.
Image: Netflix
