Why I Quit my 9 to 5
Why I Quit my 9 to 5
Heyyy guys, welcome to my blog!!! (:
And as all of you may know, this post has been long overdue since I've quit my job in February. It wasn't too long ago but some of you may have been wondering why. If you want to know a little more about what I do now, keep on reading!
Do What You Love
I was recently asked: if you had to choose between making 200$ doing what you like or making 500$ doing something you can't stand, which one would you choose? With no hesitation, I choose the 200$. I have always been an advocate for loving what you do. My creative journey began shortly after high school because I didn't quite know what to pursue; I just felt like I had too many options.
I Don't Have a University Degree But I Still Have a Career
So, I studied Media Arts at John Abbott College (yup, in Farmville like the true west islander that I was haha) for 3 years. Afterward, I got into Concordia University's Human Relations program & after one tough year of not making it into half of my classes, I dropped out. Going from a college program that was, for the most part, learning hands-on, to a University program that was spent mostly in the books, I couldn't deal with the transition. However, being the planner that I am, I couldn't get myself to drop out without a backup plan. Against my mom's wishes at the time, I decided to apply to an "Interior Decoration & Events Planning" program that would earn me a professional diploma. Sixteens months later, the internship I had hired me & I was well on my way to what I thought was a career in interior design.
I Hated My Interior Designer Job
To summarize what I was doing at the interior design firm, we design & import luxurious kitchens & bathrooms from Italy. We had a lot of clients that were homeowners but our main clientele was big condominium projects. I was still designing a few kitchens here & there, but it was mostly project management & not a lot of creative juice was needed on a day-to-day basis. Although I've had my ups and downs in this firm, I don't regret having gone through it. As they say, pressure forms diamonds (I'm being that cheesy haha, sorry) & it's what has shaped me into the person I needed to become.
October 2017 - I went to Hawaii & it was a gamechanger for me. It made me realize that I didn't want to stay where I was at my job; I was completely miserable & couldn't stand the thought of waking up to go to a job that I didn't even enjoy anymore. Mind you, being an interior designer isn't that bad as a 9 to 5, but it was the environment at the office that wasn't totaaally my fave - & everyone around me knew it. I'm sure they were tired of hearing about it as well (shoutout to them for being great listeners & supporters).
While I was working at that firm, what kept me alive were my decisions to take on projects such as @LeBrunchSquad and building my personal Instagram page. Steve (the founder of @LeBrunchSquad) & I have grown an Instagram community of 1.8K followers in October 2017 to almost 8K followers today. At the end of 2017, I had also started my freelance journey as a copywriter for a Montreal-based digital marketing agency.
Honolulu, Hawaii (October 2017)
Today, I'm Happy & It's Just The Beginning
Fast forward 2 years & here I am as a freelance interior designer & self-made social media marketer - it's a long title, hence the "Creative Designer" tagline on my landing page. I decided to go freelance so I can have the time to venture more into both of the things I love doing right now: interior design & social media.
All that to say that if you're a creative person, it won't be easy finding the career that's the right fit for you. I had to go through so many hardships (& still am) to figure out what I want to do with my life. My advice to you is to: be patient, network and keep your options open. You'd be surprised at how much help & inspiration you can get through meeting someone who has gone through the same thing. Also, my mindset and my friends are what helped me get through those tough times so a big shoutout goes out to them!
My thoughts & updates on going freelance 5 months after quitting my 9 to 5 is definitely for another post. So, stay tuned! (;
Have a great week & until next post, fam! xoxo
