Different Lives

While everyone else has been posting baby pictures as posts for #ThrowbackThursday, inspiration struck me this week and I posted this on Instagram:

Souvenirs from a different life.

Six years worth of events for twenty-two different titles. Looking at all these "All Access" passes, all of that seems like a lifetime ago. To think, I was only 23 years old when this whirlwind of a career began. Even if everything was explained to me during my interview, I had no real idea that I would be going on radio tours, conceptualizing TV segments for pitching to networks, churning out press releases, learning to make small talk with media, keeping abreast about the latest showbiz happenings, and strategizing the best ways to promote magazines --which are a medium in themselves-- in other forms of media.

I never really expected to get into PR, and it's always come as a surprise to people who know me that I even lasted. Heck, even I was surprised I lasted so long! Truth be told, it's not in my personality at all, but that life has helped me grow so much professionally and personally. And I made friends with whom I remain bonded up to this day, which just goes to show that the office culture of treating each other like family really does survive beyond the office's four walls.

I tried getting into something different, with the hope that I would learn even more things in a new field and industry. As much as I did achieve those two goals, I ended up learning more about some harsh realities about office politics and many other things I naively thought I wouldn't experience first-hand. I learned that I believe too much in the good of people, and that it's disappointing to find out that not everyone is good after all. I also realized what's important to me in an office, and ultimately in a career. Most importantly, I learned to listen to my heart, to take a risk, and do what feels right for me even if it doesn't really make sense.

The good in this life I'm about to leave behind.

Of course, it wasn't all bad in this last year and a half. I learned about the importance of customer service and relationships in a business. I've had the privilege to work with amazing people who are dedicated and hard-working, and I would like to think that I've made new friends. I may not have made my mark professionally, but it's more important to me that I touched them personally.

Now I'm preparing to leave this old life behind and jump into a new one that will test my perseverance, resourcefulness, and self-discipline. It will also test my faith in Him, and how much I'm willing to let Him take the lead. But already, I'm being reassured that everything will work out. After all, I'm finally doing what I've always been meant to do.