My Past Accomplishment: Leaving the Rat Race

After earning my degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations from Boston University, it took me a couple of years after graduation to find a job I truly enjoyed – doing book publicity at Penguin Grop (USA) and DK Publishing. My enjoyment stemmed from the fact that I wholeheartedly believed in the products I was pushing. I’ve always been an avid reader, and who doesn’t like to know about the latest and greatest book?

When I moved to Omaha almost three years ago, I had difficulty finding a job. Since I couldn’t do exactly what I was doing back in New York City, I applied for publicity positions at advertising agencies. I thought it could be interesting to promote different products on a daily basis rather than all books, all the time. By the time I was hired almost 7 months later by a local agency, I was itching to get back in the game. Unfortunately, promoting health insurance and farm equipment companies proved less exciting than pitching bestselling books, and within a couple of months I became disenchanted with my job.

I understand that work is called work because it’s not necessarily fun, but I’ve always had a hard time sticking with things that don’t provide me any sense of enjoyment or fulfillment. I envy people who can work a grueling 9-5 job because they understand that the benefits – hearty salary or excellent health insurance outweigh the negatives. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people. I’d rather make less money doing something I love, something into which I can throw all of my energy and passion.

With the support of my soon-to-be husband (emotionally and financially), I gave my two week notice and officially left the rat race for greener pastures shortly before my May 2008 wedding. Of course I was terrified to  leave, to enter the unknown. Did I make the right decision? Check back tomorrow to see what I’ve accomplished since I made my escape.

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My Past Accomplishment: Surviving Heartbreak

During my last semester of college, my head was telling me to move to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue a career in film publicity and promotion – but my heart wanted me to relocate to Washington, DC to live near the boy I’d been dating long distance. We met during Spring Break the second semester of my junior year, and, except for the summer before my senior year, we were living in different states.

Partly because it was difficult to find a job out in Hollywood and partly because I was anxious to see how our relationship would change if we lived in the same city, I ended up in the nation’s capital. Little did I expect our relationship to change so suddenly – and not for the better. We used to talk about one day getting married, moving to Colorado and getting a truck and a yellow lab. But just three months after I moved to DC to be near him (thankfully we had decided not to live together), I learned in a most dramatic fashion that he was cheating on me – and had been for months.

I was devastated. Thrown through a loop. Did I really rearrange my life for the opportunity for us, as a couple, to work? And we didn’t? He was my first true love, but I was not his. I was young and naive. Even after I found out that he was cheating on me, I didn’t want us to break up. I wanted him to want to be with me, not her, and to get help for his infidelity. He didn’t want that, and I was shattered even more – if possible.

I didn’t think I would ever recover from the heartbreak. It was debilitating. And to be honest with you, it took years to finally be able to move on. The impact of the break up affected me significantly, but despite all of the pain, I did survive – and that’s an accomplishment.

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My Past Accomplishmente: Studying Aboard in Sydney, Australia

At the end of August 2001, my parents dropped me off at Newark Airport, bags in tow, to head half-way around the world for a semester. First I flew to Los Angeles to meet up with my fellow classmates before boarding a Quantas plane headed down under. Although I had a couple of acquaintances from Boston University participating in the program, I didn’t know very many people–a challenge for a shy girl like me.

Less than two weeks after we arrived in idyllic Australia, tragedy struck back home. We couldn’t have been further away from Ground Zero, but we were all terribly affected by the September 11th attacks. I remember I couldn’t walk through downtown Sydney without envisioning airplanes flying into skyscrapers. We attended memorial services held in the city and walked past the US Embassy to leave flowers. We hugged and cried with our teachers, most of them Australians, and tried to make sense of it all.

Somehow we forced ourselves to maintain our sense of adventure in the wake of 9/11. I’m so proud to have participated in so many activities that required me to challenge my fears, including:

• Learning how to surf
• Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge
• Abseiling (or “rappelling”) in the Blue Mountains
• Scuba Diving off the Great Barrier Reef
• Riding in a Hot Air Balloon over Cairns
• Taking a 6-day safari from Darwin down to Alice Springs
• Oh, and getting a tattoo…

But my semester in Sydney wasn’t all about outdoor excursions. I learned about Australia’s history and art, interned at 20th Century Fox promoting new releases around town, tasted unique cuisine like emu and, of course, frequented local shops and flea markets. All in all, it was an amazing experience that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to replicate.

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Now that it’s finally March (rabbit, rabbit!), it’s time to officially begin the countdown to my 30th birthday. Three weeks from today I leave my twenties behind and enter a brand new decade. In honor of that milestone I thought I’d spend the next 21 days (well, 15, really, since I won’t be writing on the weekends) looking back at what I’ve accomplished, reviewing some of my future goals and, inspired by Bryn, examining the things that currently excite and inspire me.

This week I’ll explore some of my proudest accomplishments. First up, in no particular order…

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