Starting Over At 30
When I started college I couldn’t figure out what to declare as my major. I just knew I wanted it to lead to a fun career. I didn’t want to get stuck in a job that I hated.
After taking a required public relations class I found myself interested in the field and decided to pursue it. I spent the summer after graduation applying for many PR positions only to end up not finding anything. After a three month long job hunt, I got a position at an advertising agency. Although I had no interest in the position, I accepted it for the money.
After two years on the job I was not happy and started looking for something new. No longer interested in PR, I didn’t know what to apply for.
Day after day I went to work feeling trapped and unstimulated. Feeling like I had no other options; the dislike for my job was on my mind so much that I stressed myself out and ended up in the hospital for three days. This was literally the darkest period of my life.
Finally after five years, I realized I wanted to pursue writing. I could have slapped myself for not realizing this earlier in life. Writing was always something I enjoyed. But for some reason I never connected writing to making a living.
With the excitement of this new career possibility I started second guessing myself; “How am I supposed to start over now?” Based on the world’s standards I should be thriving in my career by now. These thoughts caused me to reconsider, I figured it made more sense to stay in the advertising field because I had the years of experience.
But my “Aha” moment came when I realized I had to do what was best for me. I had to follow my heart and pursue my passion, writing. And that’s what I did. I quit my job without having a backup plan. I happily stepped out in Faith and did what I wanted to do, not what I was “supposed” to do.
Entering into a new career field was intimidating and I was nervous. But I knew I owed it to myself to at least try to have a career doing what I enjoy most.
From this, I learned that giving up can never be an option, regardless of my age.
Tamika Burgess is an NYC based writer, blogger, and editor. Her articles have been featured on various sites and she is a contributor for For Women, To Women. She is also the force behind The Essence of Me; where she blogs about all things that catch her attention and sparks a reaction. // Twitter
November 4, 2014
Whew, it feels good to know that I am not alone in the struggle to find myself, words, and life, even in my thirties. I know we should have our stuff together. We should be soaring in our field. Making a national name for ourselves, or at the least a name respected in our field. Yet, we have to start over. Sometimes I get angry with myself about it, but then I have an “aha moment.” I take a deep breath and realize that I am where I need to be, I gained what I needed to have in the journey that’s for me. I stop trying to make sense of it all, because that will waste valuable time that I can take to figure out how to live my life doing what I love to do. Kudos to you, taking a leap of faith and quitting your job, to do what you love. That’s a step that I choose not to do, however, I admire those who do. I am working my day job until my dream job can pay the bills. That just means long nights, and hard work,as I go from day job to dream job. Thanks for sharing your story, it’s a reminder that it’s never too late to do what you love!