the success story scrapbook
if you have a vision, see it through
My first New Year here in the Queen City, I was ready to rock it out. I created a beautiful vision board in the first few days that hung above my bed, reminding me to pursue my blogging dreams and release my pursuits from back home. 2023 came and went, and I didn’t want to look at the vision anymore. I replaced it with posters I’d designed for my 25th birthday party, highlighting different projects I wish were finished already, and announcing my retirement from the classroom (with the ironic twist of having a “school schedule” for the evening’s events and people dressing as different types of students [the nerd, popular girl, etc]).
All this to say, hanging shit on my wall in hopes that it’ll inspire me to do something works* (*a rough 20%) when it works. But by accident, I found something that works even better - writing it down (preferably in a journal but it won’t always be possible).
right now, looking back
Let’s go back to 2023. I finish my job as a Teaching Assistant at the end of May, and I’m sure that I wanna take a break. So then I scramble for about a month trying to find something and land a receptionist position. It’s a lovely, just-what-we-needed gig, but I have to WORK to make ends meet. So I search for something else (entrepreneurial, so I can apply my creative writing degree like I keep telling myself) and find a non-profit that seems to need some website help. I send a quick message through their contact portal (after typing a draft in the Notes app!) and get a little boost of motivated anxiety. What experience can I provide to earn their trust?
That summer, I tried to help any and everyone with a website. I did help my friend Daria for a bit, and that lead me to help this really nice lady I admired, but then I ghosted. I had a conversation with a guy out in Cali who I’ve followed for a while and felt like I was wasting his time with my hopes. After a month, I was done “creating opportunities”. I just clocked in as a receptionist and worked on my own personal projects for while. Come February of 2024, I get an email from that non-profit; they’re moving into a bigger space and could use some volunteers. I was available.
And then, when another email went out a few months later searching for staff, I was hired. It wasn’t for the website, but I could continue moving away from the classroom toward a different calling, full of community and creativity. During this year, I was managing my focus & motivation with notecards. Instead of using a daily planner for a week and then feeling guilty for the rest of the month, I decided to go day by day creating tasks to tackle. Many cards show I just wanted to find a balance between finishing projects and curling up under my partner, but that volunteering day in February changed the trajectory of my to-do list.
Those notecards are now resting in the journal that preserved the 2023 vision board when it came off the wall; this is my magnet of magic and miracles (aka my manifestation journal, but I know there’s a better term for it that I can’t grasp).
Back then, looking forward
