Escape

I’ve been holding on to some news for a few weeks now because the timing wasn’t quite right to post about it, but the time has come and I’m excited to share it with you all! Things in my life were getting quite repetitive and monotonous. I began to feel trapped in my daily routine. Sleep too late. Avoid auditions. Do nothing until the time came to go into work. Complain about my job. Work late. Complain more. Come home and complain to my roommates. Go to sleep. Repeat.

So I quit. 

Let me give you all a little back story as I realize I’ve been pretty scant with the details about my life and what led me to this decision. In the fall of 2014, I moved to New York City to pursue my career as an actor. I grew up in Ohio acting in school plays and community theatre and I studied acting in college. Once I graduated with my Bachelors of Arts, I worked one more summer to save money and moved myself and all that I had to NYC. Of course, the easiest day job to pay my bills while I auditioned was in the food service industry. A huge percentage of servers and bartenders in NYC are actors. Over time, the amount of auditions I was going on decreased to almost none. I started to have such low energy and motivation. Even as a pretty solid extrovert, I began to find myself at home doing nothing with myself rather than out doing anything that I loved or working to further myself in my career. 

About two years into my life in NYC, I had the opportunity to go on my first trip outside of North America (read more on my first post: https://thesoulknowsnoborders.com/2018/01/12/let-the-wanderlust-begin/) The trip was exciting and eye-opening to me. I had always wanted to travel but had never fully realized just how much travel would impact me. With each successive trip, it hit me harder and harder that I felt like I wasn’t doing anything productive with my life. After all, I wasn’t actively pursuing my career and was just working to get through the day in hopes that I would be able to save up for the next trip a year away. It felt like a waste of my time. I kept telling myself, “If I’m not acting, I might as well be traveling” but couldn’t seem to find a way to do so that didn’t involve having to work year-round serving tables to maybe be able to go somewhere.

That’s when the tiny seed of a thought came to me. I could write. I mean, I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Novels, poems (I’m actually published), short stories, the list goes on. I had already been running this blog for a while as well. I began to look into freelance writing and what all it entailed and how hard or easy it would be. I read so many stories of people who left their 9-to-5 jobs to write. Every article mentioned finding a niche to write for and at first, I was stumped. Then, it hit me: Travel. I already have a few years of experience and trips and I always actively journal and take tons of pictures and videos. 

Originally the plan was to work through the holidays (which is good money for servers in New York, especially because my workplace was right next to Times Square) and try to save up a little more as well as get my feet on the ground to have a smoother start but I had already gotten the wheels turning in my head about writing and how ready I was to stop serving tables. I was also having a hard time balancing my time between the work in the restaurant and trying to get started freelancing. All of my time and energy was going towards the restaurant rather than getting any gigs. I found myself stuck in my day job and needed to escape so I made what is possibly the most impulsive decision in my life and handed in a two weeks notice to my job. 

From here on, I’m going to rely solely on freelancing, this blog, and temp jobs. Though I know it will be a struggle at first, I know this was the right choice. Two days out of that industry and I’m already happier and can feel my energy coming back to me. I set my own schedule now. If I find cheap flights somewhere, I can just go. I can write from wherever I am at the time. I see so many people feeling trapped in routines and had to find a way to escape that myself. I feel like my whole life has opened back up and the possibilities are endless! I can work when I want, travel when I want, and audition when I want. I’m excited for what the coming years will bring! New York will still be my home base but the whole world can be my workspace. I’ve finally found a way to do what I love and support myself doing it. Be prepared for posts on trips even I wasn’t aware I was going to take! You, dear readers, are my job now and I look forward to bringing you along with me on my future adventures!