Seasons in the Midwest can be unpredictable. Sweltering heat, bitter cold, gusting wind, driving rain, boring grey, eerily still. I turned 29 this week and I’m feeling…contemplative. I’m ALMOST THIRTY. While discussing with friends, I decided I still feel 23ish? Old enough to buy a bottle of wine but definitely too young for everything else I’m supposed to handle. While there are no major milestones that happened, Year 28 was super good and super weird. So… what have I been up to? Um, a little bit of everything.
If you’re close to me or follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably gathered that I’m taking some classes and stuff. Long story short, I left my design job at any agency at the end of December. I learned a ton and worked with some really great people along the way, but I needed to make a change. I ignored my unhappiness for a long time and made myself and everyone around me miserable in the process. I felt stuck, frustrated, uninspired, unmotivated, unhappy, unhelpful, un-everything, while following the path I thought others expected of me. Ultimately, I needed to make a change for myself. As a card-carrying member of People Pleasers Forever (definitely going to design something for this), I didn’t have a lot of experience in choosing my own path. The unknown is terrifying, especially for people-pleasing perfectionists (so I hear).
Making this change forced me into action, progress even. I’ve always wanted to try freelancing so I started my own business, Kassel Creative, with the legal and professional counsel of people way smarter than I am. I didn’t know how freelancing would go so I signed up for a few classes, you know, to stay out of trouble. One lecture class, Entrepreneurial Foundations, and one online bootcamp, User Experience Design. And you know what? It’s been awesome. Not entirely what I expected, and definitely not perfect, but awesome all the same. I do not have the rigid structure I once found comfort in but I do have a new appreciation for students, teachers, parents, small business owners, and the list goes.
Every January, I wonder if summer will ever come again. And when I long for sweater weather in August, I know brisk fall days lie ahead. So… what does extreme weather have to do with my professional ramblings? Seasons, man. I always knew exactly what my next move or role was until I didn’t. I never really had or embraced a season of true change, quiet, and discomfort. I still don’t know what my next step is. But I’m okay. Trying something new was not fatal. My biggest take-aways from my Season of Change are that change is almost always good and also that time is going to pass anyway so you may as well do what makes you happy. Year 29 is off to a great start and I do believe summer will show up sooner or later.
Are you on a clear-cut Five-Year Plan or are you wandering through a Season of Change? I hope you’re happy and learning a lot either way!
