Image source: Merlina McGovern
It’s springtime, and I was expecting blue skies and warm weather today. Instead, I woke up to a gray and drizzly day. I didn’t bemoan the delayed spring; instead, I went for a long walk -- my remedy for any frustration I might be having. As I walked through the raw and misty fog, it felt good to feel the wet, thick air stinging my cheeks. The fog got me thinking about possibilities.
For some reason, fog always makes me think about the wonder of what’s possible. Maybe it’s because it shrouds what’s before you. You can’t quite make out anything too far in front of you; it’s hard to predict what is just around the bend.
That’s a bit how I feel at the beginning of this freelance journey. After staying at one place for so long (17 years), there’s a routine that becomes your comfort and your dread. I knew exactly how each day would play out, and so I knew exactly what stresses would be waiting for me each day. I think that, as humans, we crave new things. We crave excitement.
The paradox for me is that, yes, I’m a creature of comfort; it’s why I stayed so long in one place. But I always felt like something was missing. It’s that newness, it’s that excitement about what could be ahead. In the beginning, I tried to keep excited about work. That’s why I was always willing to take on new challenges. I was ready to accept every new task, even from my very first day, when my new boss asked me if I would be OK traveling to the Philippines. Travel, when I thought that I’d never travel as a copyeditor? Yes, please! When another boss ask that I take on managing a graphic design team, though I had no experience designing graphics, I said, “Sure, count me in!” I quickly learned that I was good at design and at managing a team of designers.
Over and over again, I said yes to possibility. But, after a while, even that promise of something new had stalled, and work became routine.
It’s why I’m so excited about my freelance journey. Every day is a chance for me to meet new clients. With each new client and each new paper and book I edit, I have a chance to learn something completely new. When I copyedit books, I’m always amazed at the vast amounts of knowledge that people have to offer — no matter the topic, because the individual writing it has a unique perspective, I get to experience something new and exciting.
And, on top of that, I finally have time to write and expand my writing skills. I had always wanted to be a writer, but somehow that creative passion died as I traveled the well-worn work steps of the calcified work journey that I had stayed on for far too long.
And because I’m at the beginning of this new journey, I can’t see too far ahead. I don’t know what’s going to be coming through the mist a few months ahead. But I’m not fearful of what might appear, I’m excited.
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