Tag: work

Peter Pan never grew up and I won’t either

MiaLeave a comment
plant growing
Photo by Gelgas Airlangga on Pexels.com

There are different ways to grow—in height, sideways, or mentally. In this case, it means what I want to be when I grow up. I don’t want to grow up because you need to stay childlike in your mind. Peter Pan didn’t grow up, and I won’t either. Life is a long learning process, and you’ll never graduate from it. You only do adult things because who else would do them. Some things you have to do, like paying bills or other responsibilities that come along with it. The worst thing about being an adult is looking for a job and thinking about what to do when you grow up. It’s easier if you already know from a young age. For some, it takes longer.

I have had dreams, but they have never come true. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Since I have never had a big dream come true, I have small ones. Life didn’t turn the way I imagined it. When I was a teenager, I thought I would have had a family at 25, but then I thought I would meet the pop star I had a crush on. I also thought I would move to England, but that didn’t happen. My priorities have changed since then. I’ve had dreams after that, too. I wanted to become a Formula One photographer, but that dream was unrealistic. I have spent my life thinking about what to do, and some might think I’ve missed out on what other people have been doing. But you can’t miss something you’ve never had. I didn’t want to be like everyone else, and I am happy with my choices. Some people are meant to be married, have 2,3 children and have a career, but that’s not me. I’m Peter Pan, for crying out loud. Well almost.

My current dream is not to be a job seeker. I hate looking for one job each month and then reporting it to the job search people—I don’t know what these people are called. They expect me to look for something that doesn’t exist, as I would get a job by applying to one. The whole job search is unpleasant because it’s a waste of time and energy. There is only one I should answer for, and that’s me. I don’t want anyone to follow what I’m doing, and if I don’t do what they want, they punish me for not doing enough. By punishment, I mean taking the benefits away. If you don’t apply to jobs they think you don’t want any. It’s not about wanting; it’s about having the possibility to get a job. I don’t want a job to have something to do during the day because I have plenty to do. I want to do something that has a meaning. Life is too short to waste on something you’re forced to do. I’ve had internships where I didn’t want to be, but it was good to have because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got at least some job experience, even if employers don’t see it that way. My late mother always used to say you have to start somewhere, and I did. They still want me to apply for jobs that should be offered to young people who don’t know what they want. If I was 18 or more, jobs like that would be OK. But I want a real job with actual pay. I have diplomas that going to waste, and I didn’t study to fill my head with information. I want to put it to good use.

If you have the opportunity to do the things you want, you should do them. Therefore, I’m seriously thinking about becoming an entrepreneur because I want to be useful and make my own schedule. I don’t want to be stuck in this same spinning wheel for the rest of my life. I’ve thought about this for a long time and don’t want it to be a thought only. Nothing happens overnight, and I’m already working on it. This Peter Pan will fly and show you don’t need to be fully grown up to be who you truly are.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17

MiaLeave a comment
Christmas balls, stars and light part 17
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Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

Daily Writing Prompt

Day 17

I didn’t think a year ago that my Dad would have passed away, for starters. You don’t expect something like that to happen. In January, he was hospitalized with inflammation of the pancreas, and on February 8, he was gone. I still feel sad when I think about it. His memory wasn’t as it used to be, and people say, in a way, it was a relief for me that I didn’t have to go through with his memory loss. That’s true, but he would still be here, and I wouldn’t be alone. He would have turned 80 on March 25. My mother died when she was 68. It makes me wonder how long I got, but with death, you never know. If you stay in that darkness, your life will be wasted. You go through grief for a while, but then you need to move on. Tears will fall occasionally, but then you keep living because that’s what your loved ones want.

A year ago, I didn’t think I would still be unemployed, but then again, I’m not surprised. Looking for work is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Apparently, it’s the same with finding clients for your business. That’s what I thought a year ago as well, to become an entrepreneur. But I have kept putting it off. If you have no clients, there is no business. That’s one of the reasons why I haven’t started. I can’t live on my savings forever. I’ve taken courses on how to be active on social media and how to promote yourself. But what worries me the most is what, if nothing, of those courses will get me clients. Have I wasted my time and money on nothing? Maybe I’m not good enough to be an entrepreneur. Perhaps I’m the problem, and I can’t learn anymore. Being active and posting regularly on social media isn’t the only solution. Those post needs to have decent content. You can’t post only for the sake of it. Starting something is the hardest, but you shouldn’t get into the darkness of your fears and worries. I look at my personal Instagram and see the lack of traffic there; it doesn’t give me much confidence in my professional one. You can’t compare those two because their purpose is different. Luckily, I will have people there to push me forward with my goals.

I don’t picture life ahead because you never know what will happen. Things may have changed a year from now. A lot can happen, whether it’s personal or worldwide. Life is short; it’s only how you live it. You can do something about some things, but there are things you can’t. As Gandalf in Lord of the Rings said,

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”

The only that’s certain in this life is death and paying taxes. I certainly don’t want to do the first one in a long time.

Failure is not an option

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failure is not an option
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Ever had the thought that no matter how many times you try, you feel like a failure? You don’t get the attention you’re looking for. When no one else believes in you, giving up is easier. But nothing would be new if everyone thought the same, and the world wouldn’t have evolved as it is. Everybody won’t become great inventors, but we can do something about our lives. You can either work for others, or you can work for yourself. The latter is the hard way, which scares or worries people, including me. I don’t want to fail because that’s not an option. I don’t have time to start over again. That’s one reason I haven’t taken the step I wish to take, the fear of failure. I’ve failed in different ways. Whether it’s been education or finding a job. Certain things you can’t do yourself, like getting a job. That’s more about luck than failure. I’ve been luckier getting into a school I applied to than getting a job. They say you have a better chance of getting a job if you educate yourself, but in my experience, that isn’t true. Maybe it’s true in some occupations but not in mine.

My biggest fear the most is not being able to pay the bills if I become an entrepreneur. To be paid for a job, you need clients. It’s easier to search for a job but that haven’t happened to me, so I’m seriously thinking about becoming one. I’m already active on social media and have take courses about different approached to online marketing. But my worry is that despite doing what needs to be done, I still don’t get any clients. Am I wasting my time and should I forget about it? Maybe my business plan or dream clients doesn’t exist? What if I’m not good enough because I don’t have work experience and that’s the reason I don’t find clients? Those are the questions I keep asking myself. I don’t want to take the risk to have a business, if I have to wait couple of years to make a profit. Then a job with someone else would be better or being unemployment with benefits. Fortunally, with good planning and good confidence in my skills it won’t take that long. You don’t need to struggle with problems alone because there are people who can help.

I know I work better in an environment that I can control. I’ve been to workplaces where I didn’t feel I belonged. I don’t want to do a job I don’t want to do. Life shouldn’t be about doing things you’re not meant for. I believe you should follow your dreams even if they seem impossible in some other persons eyes. There are always people who hope you fail but that’s because they’re not brave enough to do anything about their own hopes and dreams. When my late Dad worked for another company before he started his own, there were people who were jealous because he made more money than them. But that didn’t stop him from doing a job. He started his company in 1990 and quit at least 2 years before his death this year. He had his ups and downs financially, but his occupation was different from mine. He was a goldsmith and that was an uncertain business. I followed from the sidelines how having a business worked, so I know how it is. He could chose his own hours and that’s more my style too. I’m not meant to do 9-5 jobs and people breathing down my neck. I want to be able to be myself and not try to act to be someone I’m not.