varieties_of_life

A about 6 month’s ago I was sitting at my tiny desk, in my tiny cubicle, in my tiny office within a large company and thought “God I really hate my job!”  So feeling ambitious and a little scared, I quit. 

For more than 10 years of my 31 years on earth, I have been doing medical transcription as my career.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great career to go into.  Working for a hospital or clinic (which I did) didn’t give me the flexibility or pay that I really wanted.  The benefits were great, but is it all worth missing out on the the important things in my children’s lives?  I missed out on ballet, baseball and basketball games that I really felt horrible about.  So I decided to take matters into my own hands.  First I had to quit my job.  Yes my boss wasn’t too happy about my decision, but I really didn’t care.  Second, I had to find a job for right now that really fit my needs.  So since being a transcriptionist was something that I’m good at (I should be after 10+ years), I decided to find an independent contractor position, so I could work at home but have flexible hours.  Also it changed the way I was paid, so I was making more money.  So it was turning out to be a win/win situation.  More money, more time with my kids, all great.  Now the problem is that I don’t like being a medical transcriptionist.  This was a career that I fell into long ago and just kept doing it.  There are many, many women out there who LOVE it, but I’m definitely not one of them.  I can’t be at my desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with just the sound of click, click, clicking of the keyboards.  I like to get up and chit chat with my coworkers, do different tasks throughout the day.  It is just very monotonous for a person like me. 

One night I was watching a movie where one of the characters was talking about his passion.  I’ve seen this movie a million times before, but I never really “listened” to what he was saying.  He was talking about not doing your job because you’re good at it, but doing it because you love it.  Most importantly he said, if you’re not happy, then find your passion and follow it.  So, sitting there with my bowl of popcorn in my lap it came to me like an epiphany.  Baking!  I’ve always loved to bake ever since I was younger.  In the Latino culture food plays a major role, so we all learned to cook growing up, but I always had this joy when I baked.  I remember making cakes and pies.  I always had a sense of pride when my ex-husband’s coworkers would ask me to bake something to for him to take to work or when my family complimented me on the treats I made for the holidays.  So then and there I decided to make a career change. 

I decided to enroll in our local community college to get my Associates Degree in Pastry Arts.  I’ve been so excited and just anticipating the day school begins.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m also very apprehensive.  I’m a 31-year-old, single mom going back to school.   At first I kept thinking that I didn’t want to be one of the oldest students in my class.  How am I going to fit in?  Am I going to be able to do this?  People kept asking me why I want to change careers when the medical field is so strong, especially in the job market.  I HATE second guessing myself, so I decided I wouldn’t.  Do I really care if I fit in?  No.    This is what I love, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to get there.  

So anybody out there who is unhappy in where they are in life, don’t be.  Don’t be afraid to follow your passion.  Why be stuck in a job you dread going to everyday.  I know when I’m 90 and looking back at my life, I don’t want most of my memories to be of me sitting in a cubicle. 

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