We all grew up with people telling us:
“You can be anything you want to be!” and “Follow your dreams!”
Though this may be very true, they DON’T tell you to make sure you have that all figured out by your twenties… otherwise it’s really fricken hard!!
A little history about my education and career background:
Growing up, I always wanted to be a Veterinarian. Then I found out that it’s not all fun and games/ playing with animals, but sometimes you have to put animals down and see some pretty gruesome stuff. I quickly changed my mind… although I still really love animals!
In High School, I decided to follow the Law track program that was offered. I thought criminal justice was pretty interesting, so why not! Well, let’s just say after 3 years in the program (you start your Sophomore year) … I was not so sure it was for me. I didn’t have the best of teachers- at least we didn’t always see eye to eye, the Latin teacher retired so they placed me in Spanish, and I realized that I analyze wayyy too much and don’t know if I would ever really know if someone is innocent or not.
When college came around I was really confused….
I was always really interested in events and planning parties and what not, so I looked into that. Turns out there is a degree for that! How cool!! At least that is what I thought, but when I expressed this interest to others my dreams basically got crushed. From the “is that really what you want to do?” to the “you’ll never make any money doing that” comments, I really let it get to me (which looking back now, I should have never let happen!). So, I nixed that idea and just decided to follow in my big brothers’ footsteps and study Finance. Yup, really no other reason… besides the fact that I enjoyed math.
I attended the University of Central Florida (Go Knights!) as soon as I could. I was still 17 at the time, but I just wanted out of my hometown, so I started the summer term. My first year was ok. Then my second year I joined a business fraternity (AKPsi), met some new people, became really busy, and got my first REAL job as a teller at the local credit union. After Spring semester classes, I really wasn’t sure Finance was the right track for me…. I really couldn’t stand the “stocks and bonds” discussions and couldn’t get myself interested in a lot of the topics. Junior year I decided to make a change. I stayed in the business field, so that I wouldn’t be too far behind, but decided to switch to an Entrepreneur focus.
Halfway into Junior year, life hit. I had some family and personal things to deal with and long story short, I basically dropped (or flunked) out of college. I was at my lowest point, not sure what to do. I still had my job at the credit union, so I decided to become a full-time employee. I slowly moved up in the company. Part-time teller, full-time teller, loan officer, “supervisor”- all the responsibilities without the actual title, lending department, and finally loan underwriter. I had just about done it all.
During this time, my amazing husband (boyfriend at the time) convinced me to go back to school. Unfortunately, I could not go back for business (due to grades) so I followed my original plan and took on Hospitality Management. I loved it! Besides being one of the oldest students… it was fun, interesting and I truly enjoyed it. In December of 2016, I finally did it. I GRADUATED! 
It was hard. Working full time, school and balancing my social and personal life, but I did it. However, I was still at the credit union… in the banking industry… There I was 8+ years later and I just was not happy. So, I took a risk. I got offered a position at a local bank and thought maybe it would be the change I needed. I was hired as a “credit card coordinator” but that quickly turned into a marketing roll. I actually really enjoyed it (for the most part) and learned a lot! But then, 7 months later, the department was eliminated.
There I was…. Lost again. Broken. Sad. Confused. I kept telling myself that I should have never taken that risk, I should have just stayed put. But I knew that wasn’t true. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I just keep telling myself that now. I decided I didn’t want to be in banking anymore, I took this as an opportunity. I got a career counselor to try to help me find my passion and see what I would truly enjoy. After multiple sessions, ultimately, I just need to be helping people in some way. We updated my resume, got a good cover letter draft, and started job hunting.
Now here I am, almost 4 months later… and I am still jobless. (I did start working for Rover (pet sitting) for something to do and to earn some money while I look- because who doesn’t want to play with dogs all the time??) I have submitted numerous applications. Everything from marketing to events, even admin positions… something to get me in the door. But so far, I have gotten 1 interview. Deflating, yes. But at least it was something! I prepared for the interview. I felt confident! I had questions, I had examples, I felt good. Then I got the email… “we have decided to move forward with another candidate”. CRUSHED AGAIN. How? Why? What happened? They even specifically said in the email they enjoyed getting to know me and learning about all my talents and qualifications. I was just hurt and confused. But, I did what I felt was right. I emailed them and thanked them for the opportunity and that I hoped they would keep me in mind for any future opportunities.
Back to square one I go. I knew I couldn’t sit around and mope, so I just started submitting more applications. With all these fresh, young college graduates out there… it is difficult to compete. Having little to no professional experience in this new field is definitely a road block, but I will keep trying! Nobody likes to tell you about the hard parts. So here I am… telling you. This is HARD, and it SUCKS! But I know I need to keep pushing. Something will come along that will be for me.
I know its not impossible, I know it will take patience. So, in the meantime, I will keep looking, keep applying and keep blogging! 😊
For anyone else dealing with something similar, keep your head up!
YOU CAN DO IT! YOU ARE A BADASS! FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! And IGNORE THE NEGATIVITY!
