On July 1, 2014 I lost my job. I’d been out of school for just a little bit longer than a year and I was already jobless. I got comfortable. I started to care about insurances, 401Ks and everything else you’re made to care about when you get a “steady” job. I finally knew everyone’s name without hesitating before speaking, and I really felt like I belonged. And then BOOM, I’m let go.
It was a crazy feeling. I wasn’t sad, I wasn’t mad, I was just, stuck. Stuck in-between not knowing what was next and stuck in-between being disappointed I won’t see the people I’ve come to get along with and see every day. I could tell that they were sad to see me leave, but they encouraged me. Maybe I could pursue music full time? Well, I’m an independent artist and I need money to fund the dream. So for me, losing my job meant ONE thing and ONE thing only: it was time to move!
At first I thought California, my dream destination, but I soon set my sails East for Chicago. I had tons of friends there and I just loved the city. It was close to St. Louis, and I just felt comfortable there. I started searching for jobs, and I had a few interviews during the summer, but I kept coming up empty.
My Mom told me to just, “Stop trying!” She insisted that I needed to relax, and I had been moving fast for my entire life – she thought it was time for me to slow down. Take some time for myself, sleep in, and just be.
It was the best advice of my life. In this society we’re taught that if you aren’t “making moves” or “hustling” you’re wasting time. Bullshit! Sometimes we need to time to chill, just think, and figure things out. Now of course I know everyone does not have that luxury, but if you do, just chill out.
I didn’t know what I was going to do. I made my website, I had my resume and my LinkedIn was full of unanswered messages, but I believed in myself. I took a chance.
It paid off. I now live in Chicago with my own apartment in Hyde Park. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but I hope I can be an example that sometimes we can be our worst enemy. However, you can be your own superhero. Use your power and take yourself to new heights.
The world is yours, or at least that’s what Nas told me.