A year ago I was celebrating Friendsgiving in London. And if you had asked me where I thought I was going to be a year from that point, it was definitely not back home in San Diego. But let me tell you something... Life will throw you off track and you have to adjust course - simple as that.
I was reading an old journal entry from back in May when plans were really changing up on me. It was when I came to the realization that my smartest "next move" was accepting an offer that would take me away from London. The sentiment was bittersweet, but I ultimately knew (even at the time - me being the realistic Virgo I am) that it wasn't in the cards for me to stay in the UK after graduation. Not with the career goals and aspirations I've set for myself. But still, it was the idea that I held my London dreams in my hands and had to say "see you later." On top of that, the pandemic made it feel like my time was cut short there.
But this isn't a "f*ck COVID - it ruined everything" thing at all. As crazy as it seems, maybe my time in London "being cut short" was always going to be the plan. How the year was playing out, it just made sense for me to return and be near to family again. As for COVID, it is such an interesting situation because it's a hurdle that we literally each have to deal with. Just hoping we can come out of it stronger and better than ever. COVID is perhaps one of the biggest curveballs in our lifetime, but it's really taught everyone that life doesn't always go according to plan. I, however, would challenge that and say it does always go according to the ultimate plan - the universe's plan.
I like to think about all the possibilities I have in this lifetime. I hope it's a trait I never lose as I get older because then I'd just be miserable (and old lol). So, of course, I had to list out those possibilities and dreams I have for the year ahead.
On that list* included, in no particular order:
Being closer to family and friends
Sitting in the sunshine whenever I want
Moving into my own place by the beach and spending too much money on home goods
Eating all the Mexican food, In N Out, and Trader Joe's snacks I can
Establishing myself in my chosen career
*Mind you, this comes straight from my journal entry back in May. When I tell you the power of manifestation is real...
Okay now let's bring it full circle, shall we? When I decided to take a year off from my career to go back to school for marketing, I knew that whatever job I was going to accept had to be a step in the right direction. After all, I was not trying to go back to doing social media when my ultimate career goal is to be a VP of Marketing. I wanted to do something in brand management and work on strategy. And then, I saw a post on LinkedIn that offered that exact opportunity with someone who I already considered to be a mentor (but even more so now), and everything just started to fall into place. The next thing I knew I was interviewing, negotiating and ultimately accepting an offer to my dream role out of grad school. And I'm still pinching myself that I DID THAT!
So yeah, I've been in this job for 6 months now and not a day goes by that I'm not stoked to be a part of Sun Bum. Quite easily the coolest brand to be working on. AND the office is pretty sick too. Granted, we're all WFH for the time being, but I do look forward to the day that I get to be back with coworkers and the office dogs.
One of the things I absolutely know to be true is that what is meant to be will be. I'm exactly where I'm meant to be until I'm meant to be at the next place. But for right now, that's here in my cute little apartment by the beach eating all my snacks from Trader Joe's ;)
