Turning the Page

Patience is a virtue

"Patience is a virtue // that will never hurt you". This is something my grandma always said, which my dad repeated ad nauseam to us growing up. He rarely actually abided by his own mother's advice, but he also said, "do as I say, not as I do," so I guess it all works out to something resembling logic.

Celebrating in St. Louis

Well, believe it or not, this advice was instilled somewhere deep down, because after nearly five months of searching to find a job, my patience was finally rewarded. I found a job! A good one. One I can feel like I'm doing something to contribute positively to the world. I know one's career is only one avenue for having a positive impact, and I'm not going to pretend that I've landed the perfect job. I don't think that exists.

But what I will be doing—at a very basic level—is contributing to an organization that helps people. And that's enough for me, right now. And beyond this, I'll have the opportunity to apply my surprisingly vast knowledge of mobile marketing to a very young program, one that I can grow and optimize in ways that I know work. While I'll have oversight, I'll have the freedom to make my own decisions, which is exciting.

Starting June 13th, I'll be the Mobile Marketing Manager at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A career in nonprofits has mixed reviews, but everyone I talked to at the MS Society was incredibly forthcoming, honest, and seemed to genuinely enjoy the work they were doing. Being a large-ish national nonprofit, they have a decent-sized team, and in fact were one of just two nonprofits that had positions specific to mobile marketing.

Soon to be my former hometown :')

The position is fully remote, and it's staying that way. They have great benefits, including 25—yes TWENTY FIVE—days of PTO, and generally seem to have an excellent work-life balance. That's great for me because along with the new gig, I'm making concrete plans to move to Denver. 

Everything is in the very early stages, but I'm going out to Denver for three weeks in June, to dogsit for my uncle. I'll also use this time to check out some neighborhoods and apartments where I'll eventually move in July/August.

I can't stress enough how fortunate I feel for this opportunity. Not everyone is granted the privilege to earn a decent living, much less one that is meaningful to them and doesn't take over their life. Not everyone has the means to focus on their mental health, or to up and quit their job to travel across the country for said mental health.

I'm also grateful that I have had this time without a job to unlearn bad habits, and practice a healthier lifestyle. I've made great progress on the goals I laid out in my "Keep, Stop, Start" post; I've started a (mostly) daily meditation practice, I've read more this year than I have in years (maybe ever), I've completely stopped betting on sports, and I'm going outside as much as possible. I'm not perfect, though. I'm still struggling with screentime, and haven't been as creative as I'd like (to name just a couple). But progress is not linear, and I'm continuing to work on developing & maintaining healthy habits, especially now that I'll have less time due to work.

If anyone still reading this blog (hi mom!) is to take away any lesson from what some might call my quarter-life crisis, I'll give you this. Don't get bogged down in the impending doom seemingly facing the world. The problems are so unbelievably vast and will suffocate you if you let them. Do what you can, but take the time to focus on yourself, because you are what matters most. In the words of Kendrick Lamar, "you can't help the world until you help yourself".

Oh, and go watch Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.

Subscribe

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Sleeping Bear Dunes, May 2022