Last week, I sat down for a business dinner and in effort to get to know one another better we ended up talking about interesting things we've done along our life's path. When it was my turn to share, I opened up about my experience of having a quarter life crisis--yes, legitimately. At 25, I cashed out my meager savings within my 401(k), procured a one way ticket to Madrid, Spain and sought out a family to host me as their live-in nanny. I landed with a great family that had one child who was out of diapers then hopped on a plane and never looked back.
You see, what’s important to recall is how I ended up in the situation that made me want to start fresh in a completely foreign place. I had recently graduated at the peak of the 2007 recession and desperately took the first corporate gig that came along. As a result, I found myself working for a Life and Disability Insurance company in Portland, OR. Working for a super stuffy, white male dominated, financial institution where everyone was already married and had kids sent me spiraling. I had no peer group. I constantly felt like an outsider that couldn’t catch a break. I was barely making enough to pay the bills, all while working upwards to 70 hours a week during our busy season. Not to mention, I moved to a place where it rains nine months out of the year.
Needless to say, I was miserable. I lost my zest for life and the seasonal depression that I suffered from felt insurmountable even with the help of weekly therapy sessions. So when an old college friend moved to town after her stint as an au pair, I saw it as an opportunity to shake things up.
I spent nearly a year living in Madrid and that year paved the way for all that I have become today. I promised myself that it would be a year of, “YES!” Whenever I met someone, was invited to do something, try a new food, visit a new city, my answer was a resounding yes. I was determined to let go of my shell of fear that I was so deeply coccooned in. Slowly, over time, the barriers that I wrapped myself in began to shed. I found myself feeling lighter, free, I was genuinely happy.
Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of time that I spent alone with myself. In the quiet, sometimes desperate, alone times I found myself and began to form the values which would become my foundation for life worth living. I realized that the decision to be happy and in touch with my joy was available to me anywhere, regardless of my employment, physical location, or the people I was surrounded by. That one year in Spain helped me to connect with my birthright, joy.
So while life gets busy and we all ride the wave of highs and lows, I hope you have built a strong foundation of your values. I hope you are able to remember what matters most and hold that closely to help you find joy every.single.day.
With deep love,
Paige