Tomorrow’s A New Day (When World's Collide)

This will be told with direct quotes from my best friend Nick. They will be denoted simply with quotation marks. " " Quotations by myself will be denoted as ' '.

In the fall of 2021, I didn't know it yet, but texting my friend Nick to hangout over the weekend would be the single greatest thing to ever happen to both of our lives. A simple moment that took less than 10 seconds would result in drastic life changes that would lead us both on an adventure of a lifetime. These fleeting moments flow in and out of our lives just like the tide in the ocean. Coming and going without always showing their true significance until sometimes years later. Here is Nick and I's story.

"I remember a seemingly random day of the week that my friend Connor reached out to me to hang out over the weekend. We lived a few hours away and it was very unexpected, but I didn’t have plans that weekend, so I thought why not."

I remember driving down to visit Nick and being excited. We hadn't really been able to hangout often since Nick had moved a few hours away for school and then stayed there after graduation. I was living at home after graduation myself since my industry job was 5 minutes away. I had personally been becoming all the more frustrated living at home with my parents but more living in the same hometown that I had never left. A small little bubble surrounded by thick fields of corn and soybeans. So, please believe me when I say was excited to go a few hours away to see Nick.

I had just gone through a bad relationship where I had sought out therapy after being in a bad place mentally. I was pleased with the progress I had made from it and my mindset change about life. I was focused on pleasing myself now and focusing on bettering myself. Not putting everyone else as top priority. With this newfound mindset, I was looking to travel more and learn new perspectives. What better way than my close friend who I already spoke with before about depression and had helped me already?

"I had just received a major award at the ad agency I worked for since the beginning of the pandemic and went through a big breakup. I was in desperate need of some inspiration."

"On this particular day, the weather was beautiful and perfect for a walk in the park. We wandered up and down some trails, and just talked about life and perspectives. I mentioned to Connor that I was looking for something new. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I didn’t know where I was going to go, but I knew that what I was doing at the time wasn’t going to be forever for me. For the first time, someone understood what I was talking about."

I could tell after a little over a year at my laboratory job that upward mobility in the company would only come after 5 years there. 4 more years of not really enjoying work or my life didn't sound appealing to me. I went against the norm of what my parents had taught me, and I quit. It's my life and I want to live it how I want to. I have larger aspirations than a quaint home on the block and feeling like I have wasted my life. That is what I could expect to attain at that job. Luckily for me, Nick was looking for a similar thing as well.

"I had friends and roommates that didn’t quite understand where I was coming from on how I was feeling, which made it difficult for me to open up to others. Connor was the first person to help me label the emotions that I was feeling, which can categorically be called a “quarter-life crisis”. A term that describes a feeling of lostness, confusion, and questioning your identity in your mid-twenties."

We had both been feeling it. We were both experiencing it. Our "quarter-life crisis" was real. I remember telling Nick that there was no reason to live the same lives as our parents. 'You don't have to be like your parents with a house at the end of a cul-de-sac and meet at a bowling league.' I knew that I couldn't deal with hearing the complaining from my own house about being so unhappy with work, money, etc... I wouldn't let that happen to myself. I couldn't. I would rather die than live a life where I am miserable because I was too lazy to make changes in my life. The circumference of the earth is approximately 25,000 miles long. There's a lot of the world to explore. Why should we stay in the same small 20 square miles of land our entire lives? I want to live a life worth writing a novel about. These feelings had to leave, and I knew we both needed to make a change.

"Compound those feelings with isolation from the pandemic and a hard break up. No wonder I ventured on a soul-searching quest. During this conversation, Connor recommended a few books to me to read. I was lucky that he had been able to relate to me so well. I remember thinking that he must have been feeling the same way as me for a while now. His knowledge, empathy, and support gave me the reassurance that I wasn’t alone in my feelings. I knew I needed more from life."

The change had finally come. I had still enjoyed lab work and accepted a Chemist position in Boulder, Colorado. I felt accomplished and excited for the new journey. New state, new life. It started off as what I needed for my big change. I started to enjoy life again. For the first time in a long while, I felt truly happy.

Fast forward a few months...

This was a short-lived feeling as my depression had become bad again. I didn't enjoy my job as much as I thought I would and knew that deep down I wouldn't ever truly be happy in this career. I needed more excitement. So, I quit. I was so proud of myself for having the courage to do this. I knew I needed more excitement from work, and I had been learning about bartending and alcohol after speaking with a coworker from my old job, Joe, who had done it in his twenties and loved it. I had been interested in it for a while and I still got to do some form of chemistry with cocktails, so it was an easy switch. I got a job by a miracle with no experience and then another the next week. I was working a lot but learning a lot and mastering my craft. Four featured craft cocktails later in a years' time, I have never looked back, and I have never been happier. None of this would have happened without Nick and I spending the day together and me reaching out.

"This seemingly small moment of just two friends hanging out ended up being one of the most impactful and meaningful conversations I’ve ever had with someone. Connor showed me that I can do anything if I set my mind to it, I’m not alone, and that I am more than capable of pursuing my dreams. Currently, I am teaching English abroad in Thailand. Life feels like a vacation, and I am so happy with my decision."

I truly do wonder where our lives would be without this small moment occurring. However, I am excited for what the future holds. Our lives are only just getting started. Nick and I are living on opposite sides of the world currently and our friendship has never been stronger. Never pass up the small moments in life. It could be the greatest thing you do in your life.