Two weeks after graduating from USC I started a job in my field, with cool young people, in an office I could wear jeans in, and in the city where my best friends and boyfriend lived. I got an apartment 5 blocks from the beach and started paying my bills. I made preemptive dentists appointments. What I’m trying to say is that I was doing a damn good job of being a post-grad or “real adult”.
This is a picture of me and my roommate, Kate, drinking wine after work. I mean, honestly.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. I started to feel like a zombie. In college it was easy for me to pinpoint the most fun times of any given year, but by December, I really felt like I couldn’t list one. I don’t mean I had no fun— I went out and had a great time, but nothing stood out. I kind of freaked out. I felt like my precious life was slipping away. Not to mention I was literally having health issues from sitting all day. I developed this weird hip tightness that causes my leg to give out after sitting cross-legged for long periods of time— much to the amusement of my roommates.
There was another issue. I really loved my job, but at the end of the day, I didn’t really feel like I was making much of a social impact. If I was going to make a menial salary, I at least wanted to know I was pushing the needle on a social issue.
I started looking into different options. I knew I really wanted to work abroad at some point, so I started there. It was difficult to find work that wasn’t for two years and required no previous experience in the field. I have a boyfriend and friends that I didn’t feel I could part from for more than a year. When I found Frontier Market Scouts, it kinda seemed like a hoax. It was for 6 months (perfect) doing impact investing (that sounds impactful), in countries around the world (*thumbs up*). I applied, got in, and was like, shit, am I really going to do this?
At this point, I was doing (in my opinion) great at work. I felt like I was of value to the company and I really loved my team. Was I honestly going to quit my salaried job with health benefits, pack up my life, say goodbye to my friends and boyfriend, and move to a developing country? I hesitated big time. Finally my boyfriend, Hayden, brought up a very, very valid point: If you don’t go now, you’re not going to. He was right. I would get too comfortable and the likelihood that I would go would diminish year over year. The timing was perfect, too— my lease was up. So, I tearfully quit my job, packed up my life into a little storage pod, and drove back up to Northern California.
*Some really great friends and boyfriend*
After FMS training in Monterey, I was hooked. Not only were the other FMSers badasses and the teachers my new idols, but I also learned a ton. In addition, I was stoked about my placement at Unitus Seed Fund. I finally felt like I made the right decision (I had been second guessing myself the month between when I gave my notice and the beginning of training).
Back to the real subject of this first post, why. Because to be honest, I had a really great life. I guess my reasons are three-fold:
1. Life was passing me by and I needed a little kick in the pants to start actually living my adult life
2. India is a hotbed for social enterprises and this is a great opportunity to really figure out my career trajectory.
3. Why the heck not!? If you have the opportunity to learn a new culture and travel, you go.
So that’s a wrap here in America. Thanks to all my friends and family who’ve been encouraging and supportive. I hop on a plane to tomorrow. See ya on the other side!