Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I am Like a Tumbleweed

In the wee hours last night Jimmy and I were chatting about things I could do other than be a travel agent. I've known for a while now that this job is just not for me. I don't like it 4 out of 5 days a week it seems and well that has got to stop.

I'm not one who switches careers/school majors/life plans lightly.

If I start something, even if I don't like it I'll stick with it much longer than I should have. I'm not sure why I do that. I guess because I'm scared of the unknown.

So now here I am in a job that I hate most days and part of me does not want to leave it. I've invested so much time and effort into learning how to do this that the thought of throwing it all away and starting at square one again somewhere else makes me ill.

I also have another problem. I have no idea what I'd like to do. I've never know. Even when I was little I didn't have a strong inclination towards one occupation. And now I still don't. Sure there are tons of things I like, but what if I try something and end up hating that too? I used to like travel, now look at me. I guess I'm not really the one traveling here, but still.

How do you know what you are going to like? You don't until you try it.

So, some things I could think of that I like are:

1.Doing hair. I've always loved doing hair. But what if doing that as a job rather than a fun favor for someone makes me hate it?

2.Baking. I love baking too. I tried my hand at cake decorating, and was not too good at that. But the baking part I love

3.Reading. Can you make a career out of reading? I guess if I were a book reviewer. Something tells me people would not be interested in the opinion of a 25 year old with no literary training though.

4.Writing. My major was journalism in college at one point. It had its good and bad points, but in the end I thought it was too much stress and too much pressure. I'm wondering if I should have stuck with that one a little longer though. I covered sports for my college newspaper and watching the games themselves was pretty fun.

5.Horses. Ok this one is silly. But I've always loved horses. I've only ridden one once, but I thought it was the best thing ever. Maybe I could be a horse care taker? Or horse whisperer? Jimmy said he doesn't see me scooping horse poop on hot summer days. But people change all the time.

6.Fitness Instructor. This one made Jimmy laugh loudly for a while. Ok I know I hate exercise. But I think I hate it because I suck at it. If I was good at it and knew what I was doing I think I'd like it better. Maybe not though. I didn't think anyone actually liked exercising, that they just liked the outcome of exercising. Apparently I'm wrong though. I guess you anomalies are out there?

7. Cashier. Yes setting my sights high with this one. I loved being a cashier when I worked at the drugstore. Pressing buttons and making things ding was super fun! Not fun for 8 hours a day though. Fun for 2 hours a day. So unless I worked 10 hours a week, I'm not sure this one will work.

It's frustrating that at 25 I still have no direction. I'm just floating along waiting to have an epiphany or something. So far no luck. I'm in the same spot I was 10 years ago. Except now I can cross travel agent of my list of things I'd like to do.

6 comments:

Julia Everts said...

Oh my gosh, i love that your #7 is cashier. I still to this day say that was my favorite job hands down. I miss the regulars, setting up displays in cosmetics, re-stocking shelves. Oh what fun. I still dream about that job to this day. Pathetic, i know!

Jessica said...

What would you do with your time for free just because you enjoyed it? Turn that into a job. I LOVED being a high school drug counselor, and here I am working in pharmacy benefit management. I don't even know what that means! LOL But I'm going back to school this semester so I can get paid for the same job I did as a volunteer for 5 yrs.

Sarah said...

I wish I could be a college writing tutor forever. But I had to graduate. Bummer! Also think not just about WHAT you like to do, but the CONDITIONS you enjoy working under. Sometimes it's not what we do that makes us happy, but our environment, co-workers, the atmosphere, and goals of the organization.

sptalley said...

I didn't see stay at home mom on your list, but if you want to try that one out let me know...I am more than happy to let you borrow my kid for several hours! I am with Sarah on this one...I really do think that the environment makes a huge difference. I liked my job a lot, not love, but really did like it. However, I loved most of my co-workers, we had so much fun together!

Megan said...

How about you tumble out here - I could find a fun job for you I am sure!!!

Audrey Spence said...

I've learned that I hate working in general... I love being a stay at home mom but that's what I've always wanted to do... I have an idea for you but it makes me laugh when I think about it... truck driver! You could see the country... if you didn't get lost though... I think you'd be really good as a flight attendant but I doubt airlines are hiring. I just think you'd be really good at customer service in general. You're really good with people and very polite.


Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones