Accept The Change

Change is difficult. And inevitable.

Life is always throwing curveballs at us to see how we accept and deal with them. I know that I have never been a fan of change. I fight it as much as possible.

Anyone else?

There has been a lot of things in my life that have changed over time and I'm here to talk about them with you. I'm sure some of these resonate with more than just myself.

1. Moving away to college

This is a big milestone for a lot of people. I only moved an hour away from home, so I was lucky enough to be able to still see my family pretty regularly. The town I went to school in was also very close to my grandparents.

For others, it's a bit of a longer distance. Some people move across the country to go to their dream college. Yes, it is hard at first.

I'm sure I cried for the first few months because of homesickness. It felt freeing at first, to be somewhere new and with new people, but the adrenaline soon wore off. I realized exactly what my situation was.

I couldn't wake up to my mom also waking up for work and having breakfast with her. I couldn't give my parents a hug everyday before school. I drifted away from most of my high school friends immediately after graduating and so I had to make all new friends.

Now, 3 years later, I have made one of the best friends I've ever known. Without going to college, I would've never met her or my now boyfriend of 1 year and 5 months.

2. Losing friends and making new ones

I didn't only lose my high school friends, I also went through a few different friends during my college years.

Don't get me wrong, I had amazing times with said college friends. For the first few months. Then, they started filtering out like dirty water in a Brita.

I have always been upset about losing friends because I blamed myself for every single failed friendship. In reality, it was nobody's fault.

I've come to realize that some friendships aren't meant to last and that's okay. Instead of holding on to people who aren't meant to be in my life, I just let them go and wait for the next person to change my life in a different way.

I know it's cheesy, but each friendship serves a different purpose at different times in life. Some friends are meant to stay in your life through all the seasons. Other friends are just meant to be your friend until your life has taken you in completely separate paths.

I have had the privilege of having both kinds of friends and going through that friendship heartache. Friend breakups only made me cherish the friends I have now, for however long I have them in my life.

3. Changing jobs, a few times.

I've had a few different jobs in the past 3 years, leading up to my first full-time position I have now.

I worked on my college campus as a Valet for a year and in between, I worked at a cookie dough shop for a few months before starting my almost 2-year position at a home decor store.

That last retail position I held really showed me true humanity, ha-ha.

There is a lot of stigma around people changing jobs, especially after only working at a place for a short time. To some degree, I think it is a challenge to constantly rotate around and add more jobs to the resume. Some places see that as a non-hiring trait. They see that as unreliable.

I think changing jobs to something that you really want to do, or that is going to make you happier, is great. I worked at a cookie dough place for 4 months before switching to my retail position and I was happier for it.

Then, as I was just about to come up on 2 years at my retail job, I was feeling extremely unsatisfied and unhappy going to work. I didn't want that anymore.

I have always wanted a job that I don't dread going to every day. That is what I set out to find.

And now, I have found a decent paying, work from home job that is good for me right now.

I know that this isn't going to be my forever job; it is only a temporary position anyway. I do know that I don't dread logging onto my computer everyday. I do know that I work for incredibly nice and welcoming people and we have daily meetings where there is music playing and good vibes all around.

I work for such a positive environment and that would've never happened if I hadn't left my previous job. It's okay to change.

That is what I keep telling myself about my career.

4. Changing my career right after graduation.

This is a common story.

Go to a 4 year college. Major in one thing. Change your major. Graduate. Change your mind.

The twist in that story is that not everyone is going to supportive of that change, especially after putting money into a 4 year degree and then deciding it's not for you.

But you know what? That is 100% your decision. This is your life. You have to live with the career that you choose, so why be unhappy? Why choose something just because you went to college for it?

YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

I have decided to go a different path than my degree intended, and I'm becoming more and more okay with it every single day.

I'm having faith that this is the right decision for myself and that I believe I will be happier going down this path instead.

Like I said, not everyone is going to be supportive. Some people have grown up believing you have to use your degree and stay in that lane for the rest of your life.

I call that settling. I don't want to settle. I want to be happy. And if completely changing my mind and letting some people down is going to make me happy for the rest of my life, then I will do it.

It isn't anyone's life but yours and you need to be your biggest supporter.

Audience Q: Did you start your career in the major you decided on in college?

As I approach my 21st year of life, I've really started to embrace change. I never thought I would say that, because I have always been change's biggest enemy.

But now, I think it's okay for things to change. You are changing as you are reading this. But certain things, like a career, aren't going to change if you don't facilitate it. You have to stand your own ground and do what's best for you.

Day by day, I'm trying to do just that.

I really hope you enjoyed reading all about my changes in life that have made an impact.

Please give me a like and let me know what you thought about this piece!

Happy Monday :)