We’re all writing a new chapter of our personal life story. None of our lives are the same as they were just a few short weeks ago. While your current story might feel like a tragedy or horror story, there’s no reason to believe it won’t have a happy ending eventually. All of us have survived past challenges. Think back to a time when you had no idea how you were going to get through something. It could be a family trauma like abuse or divorce, or it could be a health issue like cancer or an accident, or maybe it was a financial crisis of losing a job or a business. Eventually, you got through it. What did you learn from it? How did you get through it- probably day by day? As they say, you have survived all of your worst days. You will get through these as well. Looking back and appreciating the things we have overcome in the past will remind us that we are strong enough to survive this as well.
As this pandemic continues on, it becomes more and more likely that many of us are or will be unemployed. This was the first week that I started to see signs that the industry I have loved working in for over a decade might be on pause for an extended amount of time. So I’m spending a lot of time thinking about a new career path. I’m often terrified of change and the unknown, it definitely something I recognize about myself. I’ve been looking back to my early years in event marketing when you really never knew when you’d find your next gig to work. There were times I had season-long promotions canceled out of the blue because a bank got acquired by another bank, there were times they decided to go with another manager instead of me, and there were times I had to take jobs that were downright demeaning just to keep the money coming in. But every time there was a loss, something better came along. I don’t know how I kept my cool back them with so much uncertainty, but I’ve always done my best to believe in myself and expect the best. I had to remind myself that once again if I do lose my current job, it just means the Universe has something far better planned for me.
As I consider my Plan B, I’ve been reflecting back on what my passions are, what I wanted to be as a child, and what talents do I have to share with the world? It dawned on me that as I child I had so much confidence in myself, I might have been an introvert, but inside I just knew I was awesome! I can thank my parents for building that up when I was very young. I was thinking about how I used to love to help cook, and when those huge VHS video cameras came out I actually would record a cooking show with my brother and play it for my parents when they got home from their dinner meeting. I recall being just silly and bold and loved to be on camera. So where along the line did I pick up my current fear of filming myself now? I love to speak in front of people, but the idea of filming myself for social media just seems so intimidating now. 9 yr old Colleen would have been a Tik Tok star for sure! I used to film myself interviewing my family members as well. So how do I reconnect to that love and bring it into the present to feel more like my authentic self? It’s also nice that I’ve really gone back to a lot of cooking and baking during all this downtime. I’ve even created a recipe book for dog treats! I combined my passion for dogs and baking together.
One of my other passions was the rave culture of the 90s and early 2000s. I was left utterly empty when it was all taken away by the RAVE Act which a Senator Biden (yes, that Biden) paper-clipped to the Amber Alert bill and essentially made all raves completely illegal. But let’s not get into politics, I just wanted to share that so many of my favorite DJs have been live streaming on social media lately. I don’t really want to stay out late in bars now, so it’s been a complete blessing to enjoy the music I love again and dance around my house. Dancing is truly a form of worship for me and connects me to my spiritual side. I’ve had some plans for a way to preserve those rave memories and stories of the culture and reconnecting to music and movement has just confirmed that it’s a part of me that needs to continue on beyond this quarantine.
Have you been connecting to any old passions? Are you finding new ways to connect with your family and friends? Are you looking for a new career, maybe one that’s more authentic and inspiring to you? Do you just need a reminder that you have been through some crap in the past and this too shall pass? Sometimes the answers we are looking for can be found by looking back at our past for inspiration and determination.
On a serious note, if you need someone to connect to, I’d love to hear from you! We are all in this together.
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