Careers, should they be your passion or a means to an end?

So this is an apology for my readers, whoever may be kind enough to actually visit my blog that is. I know I have said that I would make more of an effort to post on a regular basis but I have been so busy with work for the last 2 months. Ohh yeah! I got a job! I am extremely lucky to have found something after the countless amounts of applications I filed out. Trust me I know this (and if it feels like there is a but coming here, then you my friend are correct) but, it hasn’t been all that I thought it would be.

I know for a fact this is not the industry nor the position I want for my career. It is not something that is particularly interesting to me and I am not in the slightest passionate about it. It’s a paycheck though, right? So what do I do? Do I stick it out for the “required” year as it is my first job or do I try to find something while working here.

I  am the type of person who needs to feel like they are making a difference, not just at work but in the world. I don’t feel either in my current position. The work I do only makes the owners richer but doesn’t do much as to make the world a better place in any capacity. What I truly love to do as many of you know, is to write. To create content. To inspire. To make some kind of positive impact with my contribution.

What I really want is a job in the social media/PR/creative industry where I can be & use my creative side. I want my juices flowing. I don’t want to sit at a desk and just twiddle my thumbs. It is a cross roads that the majority of us find ourselves in. We get stuck in a job we don’t like but we just say “we’re supposed to hate our jobs anyways. No one likes work. That’s just life.” I don’t agree with this sentiment at all. You don’t have to hate your job. You can find something you truly love and are passionate about. You need to get out there and network. You need to add skills so you can be a valuable piece in the industry in which you want to work in. And that is exactly what I am doing right now. Hopefully this will open up a door to a job I truly am passionate about.

Being stressed and having a job I have no passion for has been taking control of my life for the past 2 months. I haven’t had a chance to write at all. I haven’t really been able to do much of anything. I just come home exhausted and feeling almost depressed. I know i am unhappy in this situation but I am being practical because I need the money right now. Not for myself, but to take the burden off my parents who have supported me for 24 years. I owe it to them to stay at this job until something better comes along. But boy I hope something good comes along soon! This was just my little way of venting to you beautiful people : ) Hope you don’t mind!

What are your takes on finding a career in which you can truly be happy in? Any tips or advice? Please chime in and reblog to see what others think. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!

Until Next Time ~Peace, Love & Respect~

Thinking about switching it up

 

Hello my lovely readers! So I am thinking about switching it up and instead of just having my inspirational stuff I could add some more things. I was actually thinking about making a separate food blog because I will definitely be having some crazy food adventures this summer! However, I don’t want to deprave you guys of the awesome food I could be sharing. So I might just shake things up with this blog and give you loyal followers a little bit of everything. 

Comment and let me know!!! Let’s create a dialogue!  

NBA Legend with perspective

http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/

I am sure by now you have all heard about Donald Sterling and his 1800’s view on equality. However, there is something very off about all of this. Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabber wrote a piece for Time that pretty much sums up all of this to a tee. What are your thoughts? Of course what Sterling said was not right but he did so in his own home. Are we not safe to speak our mind in our own homes? He was recorded by his girlfriend (he is a 80 year old married man!). Like I said nothing really sits well with this on so many levels. Comment and let me know your thoughts!!

The Sweetness of Silence

 

Words, my best friends and my worst enemy. In my mind they are going at a hundred miles an hour….BUT that is where they stay. I try to get them to the tip of my tongue but ohhh no they said to me “this is not done” So now I am drowning in my words, in my thoughts, in my own insecurities. Now don’t get me wrong some of these words do make it out like battered soldiers coming back home from war, but when these words kiss the wind they get carried somewhere else instead of the ears I so long wish to communicate with. Whoever it may be on this day fails to see the words I so gently and delicately picked out for them, and just them. Slap in my face, wouldn’t you say. See now I want to tell the world about my ideas, my thoughts, my feelings but this apprehension has got my words hostage. But these old words have little fight in them with all their mileage. The silence as cruel as it is has become one of my best friends, following me around like I was its caretaker. Silence in all of its sick mannerisms comes up to me and asks “How are you today? What are we doing today? I hope you never leave my side.” Like a crazy, obsessive stalker ex girlfriend silence won’t leave. The silence won’t leave me. Now let me paint a picture so vividly that you soon will find yourself in my place. So lets start with the words that sit at my feet, these are the words that express my defeat. And with each step I take escape is what they seek. Now to the words that flow by my knees, these are the words that should come to me with ease but instead I freeze. The words that run up and down my thighs are filled with lies that love to see the surprise in your eyes.The words at my waist are often misplaced or erased. And once at my chest for long these words do not rest because they are suppressed. The words that somehow make it to my throat are the very words that make me choke. It’s all for nothing and I wind up going home broke.  Now since childhood my words always played on the tip of my tounge, they would get close to jumping off but they would turn around and run. The youngest of two it was expected to be coddled and overlooked but it shook…me because now I feel like I can’t express myself freely. I find inspiration from Dylan and I keep telling myself the times- they are a changin. Because these words are flowing at an immense pace and this damn dam I have built up won’t hold up much longer. But for now I let my words flow to my fingers and from my fingers to countless numbers of blank white pages. And piece by piece Waiting to be turned in to masterpieces and just for a moment this apprehension ceases….to exist.

 

Ted Talks: The power of social media and creativity

 

 

 

I recently watched several Ted Talk videos but a few really stuck out to me.One of those was a TedxTalk by Hillie Van der Kaa titled “Thanks to social media, everybody can be a journalist.” As the title suggests she speaks about how everyday individuals can become reporters of news because of social media. This is a trend that I myself have been seeing and participating in since I entered the social media atmosphere. She brings up the instance of 9/11 and how when she heard about it she tried to tell others but they didn’t quite believe her and they were more focused on their studying. It clicked to her that she was basically spreading a rumor in the eyes of those who haven’t heard the news yet.

 

The aspect of ethics was also brought up where she stated that she believes that ethical dilemmas like what to trust and what to publish are being taken out of the hands of journalists. Instead it’s the viewers who decide what they believe and what they want to see. This is something I agree with to a certain extent because traditional media used to and still give us what they want to show us a la the bias of FOX or CNN. However with social media you are getting information from a 100 different perspectives and you get to pick what path to follow.

 

Another interesting video that I watched was one called “The Art of Creativity” from a man named Taika Waititi. I am not sure if it was the subject of the video or just the interesting story of this man and the way he presented himself that fascinated me. He explained that he came from New Zealand and from a diverse background where his mother is from Russian and Jewish descent and his father’s background is not mentioned rather he tells us that his father is a farmer and an artist. He presents creativity as a matter of perception and expression through the lens of obsession. He speaks about all the things he was obsessed with as a child and how it honed his artistic skills that he has now. If you can’t become obsessed with your work, your passion won’t come through, and you just won’t grow as you would otherwise. Fully immerse yourself in what you love and amazing things can happen. A life lesson if I ever saw one.