Culpwrit

  Gayle Gaviola      

I was visiting your blog again today and this excerpt, a quote from Richard R. Buery Jr. in the September 12 post, caught my eye:

Richard R. Buery Jr., president and CEO of the Children’s Aid Society, followed his passion and is glad he did so. […] Buery’s advice:  “I think young people often are planning too much and thinking too much.  Before you have a family and a mortgage, try different things, do crazy things, explore what you love, and find your passion that way.  Don’t worry so much about how things are going to fit into some career plan.”  That’s the advice worked for me so far.

After graduating college, I took a job at a B2B public relations agency for over a year — I soon learned that I loved PR, but I was in the wrong industry of it.  I left my job in March to travel across Europe for nearly three months and see the world, enjoy life and take the time to reflect on my true passions.  The experience was absolutely life changing.  Upon my return home, I swore that I would use my experiences and rejuvenation toward landing a job in a PR field I was passionate about — I promised myself I would not settle this time; I would not stop until I received an offer that felt right.  My job search became a full-time job.  I went for agonizing weeks without calls.  And when some finally came, I felt crazy for turning down opportunities that offered good pay, but were in fields that didn’t really capture me.  At times, I stayed up into the whee hours of the night on Indeed, LinkedIn and Craigslist, wondering if I was going crazy.  Crazy for being so stubborn about getting into my dream field (was I being an ungrateful, modern-day-hippie Gen Y kid?), and crazy for turning down actual job offers in an economy like this!  Nevertheless, I hunted hard and selectively, relied on the comfort and encouragement of my support network, and kept reading blogs like yours to maintain a constant flow of inspiration.  Although I felt very discouraged at times, I refused to forget what I had internalized during my trip abroad — that happiness is key –and refused to give in to defeat.

And just when I thought it wouldn’t happen, it did.  Two days ago, I accepted a job offer with an entertainment/tech PR agency — a gig of my dreams!  Mr. Buery is right — often times, young people can become so caught up in over-thinking and planning out life that they lose sight of the wonderful things that can unfold if they just let go a little and live with passion, find what they love.  Sometimes, we just need to stop worrying so much and do something a little crazy.  Although initially faced with uncertainty, my passion eventually led me to a job that is truly right for me and that I cannot wait to begin — I start on Tuesday and can’t be more excited!

Thanks once again for running your blog and for your words of encouragement; it is a wonderful resource for those of us hitting the grind and waiting, hoping, working our [bleep]s off for something amazing to come along.  It still is possible to do something you love, even in an economy like this.  Please keep doing what you do.
 

Gayle Gaviola, 24, lives in Los Angeles.  She’s a 2008 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara where she majored in communication.  Gayle studied at the Instituto Internacional in Madrid, Spain during the summer of 2007.  Follow her on Twitter @gayl3y.