Picture Yourself Happier

It has officially been THREE years since I established my LLC and went full-time working on my own. And it has been the best three years! I wanted to share some highlights and some thoughts to celebrate this occasion. 

Three years is the longest I’ve been in one “place” for work. But this is so different because I get to work with so many different people and on different projects, so the time has flown by! 

Three years ago I decided to leave a job I loved. I loved the work I was doing and the members, but I felt defeated and discouraged by changing dynamics within the workspace. But three years ago isn’t really where this story begins, let’s rewind even more.

Dream Job

My dream job was to be a yearbook representative with a publishing company. [I was a yearbook nerd, if you didn’t know!] One aspect that intrigued me about being a yearbook representative was you worked for a publisher, but had your own schedule. You went to different schools to help students learn about layout design, publishing, and making their mark on their school’s history. Basically ran your own business, including an aspect of sales. I was offered a yearbook representative job shortly after graduate school but turned it down after a lot of contemplation about current circumstances in my life. It was a hard decision. Lots of tears were shed, but ultimately it was the right decision for me.

From there I found jobs in marketing and communications to grow my skill set. I did a lot of design work (a clear passion of mine) but also dipped in membership management, marketing, event planning, operations, and so much more. I truly love getting involved in many different types of projects, as it keeps me away from getting bored.

Deep down running my own business was something I craved. I wanted some freedom, but primarily I wanted to do a variety of things. I have always been a quick learner and get through tasks quickly, but I also don’t let my work suffer.  

Jumping out to work for yourself is a scary thing to do. But I had to do it — for my mental health, for my family, and to follow my dreams. In life I’ve learned you can’t sit back and be unhappy with your life. Happiness is a choice and you have to do what is needed to be happy. Don’t be afraid to be happy. Don’t be afraid to dream big and go after it. 

A Change in College

When I initially started college I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t in the sorority scene. I had friends that I would hang out with, but things just didn’t click. I craved more, I wanted to be involved, find my people. I stayed at the school for two years to give it a fair chance. I figured it was what I was supposed to do, go to the school I selected as a high school senior and stick it out for four years. 

In the second year at school, I accepted the fact that maybe the school wasn’t for me. It didn’t even have a yearbook — which was my hopeful career path. I started really thinking about what I wanted and what I was missing. I missed soccer. I missed the small community of my high school, where I felt like I was part of something. When I didn’t get into a program I was interested in at the school I was faced with a choice — keep at it where I wasn’t happy, working to get into the program and spending even more years at the school…. Or reevaluate my plan all together. 

That spring semester of my sophomore year a lot happened to help me realize you don’t have to stick to the circumstances you are given — or even make yourself. After not getting into the program I hoped for I started looking for other paths to take. I started to consider a different school, one I looked at a lot in high school. I had even been recruited for soccer and emailed the coach asking if I could walk on as a junior and got a yes. 

I wanted to do my due diligence, so I decided to go talk to a professor at the school who lived nearby where I grew up. On my way home I was driving down 441 in the middle of nowhere and my car broke down. As I got out of my car, I noticed my phone was dying AND it started to snow. In central Georgia. Thankfully a friend came to rescue me and brought me back to school, but it really made me question what I was supposed to do next. 

That same semester I was also in an art class. I can’t remember what project we were working on, but it required us to cut up magazines. When flipping through magazines I came across an image — a woman holding a frame with the words “Picture Yourself Happier.” I cut that image and I held onto it, thinking about what my life could be. I still have this image, it hangs in my office. It took coming across this image and all the other circumstances I was facing as signs of a changing path for me. 

I took this and ran with it. I applied to the other school, got in, and ended up being so much happier. I had a wonderful education experience — getting back involved with yearbooks! — and small classes and friendly classmates. I was getting to play soccer again. I met my now husband. I was given a graduate assistant position and got my MBA. I’m so thankful I had the courage and opportunity to change my circumstances with school and now my career. 

Just remember, whatever you do, don’t settle! Dare to be different and picture yourself happier. What does it look like!? Take steps to get there! Share one idea you have in the comments on what you would like to tackle in 2024 to go after your dreams!