When life closes a door…
I know this sentence typically ends with, “it opens a window,” but for my story – it’s going to end (or begin) with “book a trip.”
Let’s back track for a second. I spent a solid month of my summer worrying about my future at my company, a job that I didn’t hate, but it wasn’t my dream job either. Many nights I was restless, wondering what the final decision would be. Do I make the cut or am I out?
When the day finally rolled around, I was called into a room, and informed that my position had been eliminated. Now, I know people say layoffs can happen to anyone, and it’s not personal. But let me tell you, it certainly FEELS personal. I took my ‘separation package’ and got the hell out of there.
I spent a lot of that day, and the next couple of weeks worrying what on earth I was going to do with my life. And then I decided to pick myself up, and get over it. Why not look at this unexpected change in my life as a blessing rather than what I had dubbed it as THE WORST THING EVER? Instead of spending every day as a ball of anxiety, I decided to take control of my situation.
Let me preface this by telling you that I am one of the least spontaneous people, ever. In fact, I’m not sure how people chose a restaurant before Yelp existed. Yes, I’m that bad. Seriously, how can I go into a restaurant blind? How many stars does it have?!
My friend, who was also suffering from a post-career existential crisis, and I decided to book a trip. When will we have time off like this again?
After college, I was in such a rush to find a job, start a career, and get moving. I’m not saying that is a bad thing – I still do want to do all of those things. But instead of dwelling on a situation that’s out of my control, I decided to take charge.
In a little over two weeks from now, we’ll be boarding a flight to Italy. I plan to eat all of the pasta I can and appreciate every moment of this journey. Personally, I know that I need to stop worrying about the future, and live in the now. (How many clichés can I fit into one story?)
I would love to invite you all to join us on our trip. I’ll be writing about our planning process, each stop and other aspects of the adventure for FTS – so stay tuned!
And remember, if something unexpected happens in your plan, try to make the most of it and avoid spending several hours of your day watching Keeping up with the Kardasians.
