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What are you waiting for?

How Nickelback changed my life … yes, Nickelback. And I’m not ashamed of saying it out loud.

By Jule JessenbergerPublished 4 years ago 6 min read
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Source: YouTube

Ok, I know, I know!

Nickelback is normally not a good start for a conversation or even for an article. I know there are people out there who don‘t like this band and their songs or are just too afraid to confess publicly that they like them.

To be honest, I don‘t get this hate and ravaging dislike for this glorious band. But you do you. You can like whatever you want and I like whatever I want.

Good?

Perfect.

I adore Nickelback, and their songs that have helped me through all kinds of life phases, problems, and drama. And so there are many songs that I feel connected to. But if I had to pick one song that constantly motivates me to step fearlessly into the unknown and inspired me to do something that I was afraid of, it would be:

“What are you waiting for?”

Maybe it‘s because this song is very on the nose. It says exactly what you need to hear when you feel nothing is happening in your life or when you’re lost. When you’re stuck and are afraid to take a chance. When you’re unhappy in your current situation but can’t get yourself to change something.

And that’s exactly what happened to me six years ago …

I was working as a supervisor at my university and supported students with their creative projects. I had just finished my Creative Arts Bachelor and was currently in the phase where I was applying for a couple of jobs.

I was struggling for money from month to month in a city I love, but had a high cost of living.

I was struggling to find a creative job fitting to my Bachelor in Film and Animation and I had doubts and fears about my future that were eating me up.

Was it the right decision to invest all that money in my education to become a creative filmmaker? Could I find a job that makes me happy and that would pay my bills in filmmaking? Would I survive the next month? And how could I possibly pay off all this debt?

I was lost and unhappy. I tried so hard to stay positive, but months went by and nothing changed. The struggle continued and my happiness and mental health suffered deeply.

Somehow, I still managed to generate an income, but I started to feel drained by my current work. I started to hate it because it wasn’t what I truly wanted to do.

“Don't you wanna learn to deal with fear? Don't you wanna take the wheel and steer?”

Even though I knew I should deal with my fear and worries, I couldn’t. I didn’t want to face them. I didn’t want to take the wheel.

Because I felt I was failing and everything I’d done so far was for nothing.

I desperately tried to get a new job, but most of the companies I applied for didn’t even reply. And at that time there weren’t many opportunities for what I wanted to do. I started to compromise out of pure frustration and fear of never getting a job.

I tried to find happiness and joy in my current jobs that were draining me. I tried to be patient and tell myself that everything would eventually work out.

“Are you waiting for the right excuse? Are you waiting for a sign to choose? While you’re waiting it's the time you lose …”

But the truth was, I was living with excuses and was waiting for the “right sign”. And I was losing time …

I was afraid of letting go of my “security”. I was afraid to go into the unknown. And I was terrified to make a mistake and ruin my life. I was so afraid of failing that I was frozen in my life – torn by jobs that I didn’t like anymore and the constant fear of not having enough money. Deep down, I knew this was going on, but my mind was clouded by the daily struggle.

Until one day when I walked to work – lost in my worries and fear.

I was angry at myself for getting into this situation and I was angry at the world that seemed so unfair to a creative soul like me.

Then Nickelback started to play.

“Don't you wanna spread your wings and fly? Don't you wanna really live your life? Don't you wanna love before you die?”

Have you ever had this with a song? When you’ve heard it a million times but there’s this one significant moment when you actually listen and it changes your life?

That’s what happened to me.

I had heard this song many times before, but at that moment when I wanted to cry because I was so unhappy and terrified of my future, I listened.

And it CLICKED.

“You gotta go and reach for the top. Believe in every dream that you got.”

I remember how I stopped walking. I was transfixed listening to the lyrics. I couldn’t breath as new hope filled my body. I just stared in the sky and let all the words sink into my soul.

Then I cried – not because I felt desperate and unhappy – but because I felt relieved. I felt like for the first time in months, I knew what to do.

So I went to work that day – filled with new hope and powerful faith. My heart was racing because I was so nervous and a little frightened, but I didn’t care. I knew what to do.

I went to my boss and told him that in two months (the end of the year), I would stop working there.

He was more than surprised and asked me: “Have you found another job?”

I smiled at him and said: “No. Not yet.”

And it felt good. It felt right. Because at that moment, I knew I needed to let go of what was holding me back. I needed to step into the unknown.

My family thought I was crazy because I quit a secure job even though I didn't have a new one, but I knew everything would work out. I would figure it out.

“You know you gotta give it your all. And don't you be afraid if you fall.”

Two months later, when I quit my job, I had found another job in a small company as a motion designer.

This job made me very happy and offered me a lot of creative challenges over 3.5 years. It gave me security and room to improve my creative and personal skills.

This job that helped me become the person I am now and I will always be grateful to the people I met there.

Without the leap of faith that Nickelback gave me with this song, I would have never found this job. And if I had never found this job and given it all I had, I would have never been where I am now.

Sometimes you need to stop waiting, stop worrying, stop being afraid of the unknown, and just do what feels right. And don’t be afraid of failing or doing a mistake.

“Everybody's gonna make mistakes. But everybody's got a choice to make. Everybody needs a leap of faith. When are you taking yours?”

So, what are you waiting for?

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About the Creator

Jule Jessenberger

When I’m not hunting demons with Dean and Sam or looking for hidden treasures with Indiana Jones, I’m writing stories or geeky articles, and sometimes (ok, most of the time) I’m fangirling about shows, comics, or movies.

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