steps with intention and grace.
Girl.Edge was created to help college students and young professional women live their most purposeful life. If you are feeling unfulfilled, burnt out, or stuck now’s not the time to give up. It’s time to reset and I want to help you.
I provide content and digital resources so that you can achieve a lifestyle that is more sustainable and more high vibe. Why? Because the greatness that is within you is worthy of the effort it takes to figure out your purpose thoughtfully and live it intentionally.
Get started with The Girl.Edge Newsletter. It’s my weekly love letter to you and the version of myself that is seeking support as I try to figure out my next best steps in life.
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WANT TO KNOW HOW MY JOURNEY LED ME TO YOU?
I had done all the right things to get a job with benefits, a flexible schedule, and in an industry related to my educational background. I had achieved the goals that society suggests that we have for ourselves (go to school, get a job, climb an imaginary ladder leading to…um, still try to figure that out), and life wasn’t bad. I even had a loving relationship with a man that would soon become my husband. But…I was bored with my professional life.
I woke up each morning, sat in traffic, went to work, sat in traffic, and arrived home each day to feelings of frustration. Is this what life should be? Should I crave weekends and vacations more than my every day life? I didn’t think so. But, I knew if I kept doing the same things each day, my results would remain the same. So. I enrolled in a graduate program that was unrelated to my scientific field of work and when I got close to finishing, I quit the best job I had ever had.
At this point, I still didn’t know what I was suppose to do with my life but I knew I was tired of normal. I used my last big graduate project to force me to do the scary thing that I had been wanting to do for months. I quit the best job I ever had. It felt exciting and horrible at the same time.
You see, I didn’t have another job lined up, all I had was hope of something different, exciting, and purposeful.
Are you searching for different and purposeful? Great. I’ve been there. Sign-up for The Purpose Lab.
I found a volunteer program online that would help me fulfill the requirements of my last graduate project and off I went.
My loved ones couldn’t understand why I quit a decent paying job with benefits. Couldn’t I complete my degree and keep my job at least until I found another job?
I could have… but I didn’t want to. I needed a change and making sure it wasn’t easy to fall back on my same comfy position was necessary. I didn’t burn any bridges leaving my job but I knew in my heart, there was no going back.
Lesson: Your comfort zone will never be where you’ll experience the growth you need to truly change.
The Volunteer Program was with IVHQ & Maximo Nivel.
I was introduced to BuildinGuate a amazing non-profit that provides resources to communities in need.
I had a good time and met some amazing people but parts of the trip was lonely.
I was forced to spend time with myself. I was forced to begin asking myself the hard questions:
- Why was I unhappy?
- What did I really want to do with my life?
- What was next?
By asking myself the hard questions, I realized what I didn’t want but still hadn’t figured out what I did want.
As the time approached for me to come home, I panicked about money going out and none coming in. I came home graduated from my masters program and began applying for more science jobs. It’s what I knew best. And, there was student loans that would be coming due.
Was I taking steps backwards? Maybe, but volunteering with two different under served populations made me recognize just how blessed I was.
Lessons:
- Don’t be afraid to ask yourself what you really want.
- The journey is necessary.
- Sometimes, it takes seeing people with so much less than ourselves happy to realize that we have enough.
- My volunteer experience helped me elevate my ability to experience gratitude even when sh*t isn’t so great. It’s an important skill to cultivate, that’s why I created the The Gratitude Lab, check it out.
After graduation, I found myself back in the laboratory doing what I do well. But… I was a changed woman.
I looked the same but my mindset was different. I no longer needed permission to move on when I wanted a change and I was no longer interested in wasting time doing things that I didn’t find empowering in some way.
The job was OK but I knew within the year that I wanted something more challenging. I wasted no time applying for other jobs and got rejected. Those rejections ended up being a good thing, although it didn’t feel like it in the moment.
Let me explain.
The jobs I didn’t get led me to pursue teaching English again. I did AmeriCorps while I was in undergrad and loved it. At this point, I had four degrees that had to be worth something. It was; however, I also needed a TEFL certificate. So. I took an online TEFL program during my evenings after work and within a couple months I finished it and hatched a plan to teach abroad in Prague.
With a decent savings account and fear in my heart, I quit another job that provided financial comfort because my spirit was restless. My mom told me not to quit. My brother told me to stop quitting jobs. My husband supported my decision. In hindsight, I laugh because the irony is that people who love us the most, may be the ones telling us to do the safe thing.
Lessons:
- Sometimes, the answer isn’t a different version of the same thing.
- Ask God and the Universe for what you want and you may just get it.
- When you earn money, save money intentionally. Money isn’t everything but it can provide the means for you to move on more easily. If you want support with saving money, check out The Adulting Lab.
I ignored everyone (including my mom) who told me to not to quit “another good job” and made what I thought was a calculated and well-researched risk when I booked a one-way ticket to The Czech Republic. Once there, I joined the peeps at The Language School and within weeks I had a position teaching English to young adults.
- It took effort.
- It took putting myself out there.
- It took not seeing any part of my identity as not enough.
Honestly, I wasn’t a great teacher at first. I stood in front of pre-teens and teens who could sniff out fear and I got a chance to practice being confident. Each day I showed up and didn’t give up and I got better. I was committed to something that was bigger than me and I had kids that I didn’t want to fail. Once I got over my fear of failing, I had fun.
English class shenanigans.
They were the highlight of my entire trip.
I stayed in Europe for a few months teaching English and travel hacking my way to several different countries including Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.
Life wasn’t perfect but it was great. I was loving the students and meeting new people. I woke up and decided on new adventures on a whim and I was loving the results of my decisions.
Lessons:
- We have the biggest role in creating the future we want.
- Fear will be part of our life experiences but we can have courage, confidence, and commitment on our side.
- Not everyone will understand what you’re doing or why and that is okay.
Coming home from my Czech adventure was bittersweet. I got to go home to my sweet husband who was home supporting the dream but I had to find another job. Money.
I landed in a molecular laboratory. I enjoyed the work and I was thankful to be working the analytical part of my brain again.
You see. At the beginning of the journey, I didn’t hate science or lab work. I disliked the monotony of my life. I now understood that I could make life changes right at home AND enjoy the version of me I wanted to be. Psst. You can too!
During this period, I worked hard and eventually transitioned to a position as a Newborn Screening Chemist. I loved the work and I decided to commit to that position for at a few years and then God showed me who was in control. I got pregnant.
Although my pregnancy was intentional, it happened much more quickly than I thought it would.
After having my daughter, I was faced with the decision of working or staying home. Initially, I went back to work but when it came time to put my daughter in daycare, I didn’t.
I quit my job. Again.
My daughter was my new priority but I wasn’t ready to stop serving women and children and I wasn’t ready to stop earning an income. I learned all I could about online business and launched several blogs including my blogging baby, Damn Good Mom, a blog turned online business.
It took me long days, tearful nights, lots of trial and error but I eventually figured out how to turn my blog into a business and it felt good. The process showed me how to commit, set goals, and endure.
I realized my purpose is helping women with personal growth and wellness. So. I create the content and resources I would have wanted to be available to me during the times I was unsure about my purpose and lacking the confidence to make much needed changes. Why? Because I know that we all are worthy and capable of greatness, even if we don’t see it in ourselves yet.
At the beginning of my journey, I was terrified of quitting because leaving the comfort of what I thought was security isn’t what we’re taught to do. Our brains aren’t wired for risk, we want pleasure and survival.
I offer to you that that thing that you’re afraid of may be the thing you need to try to prove to yourself that you are awesome. Get that new job, move to that new city, get that education, become that person you want to be.
As long as we have love, commitment, determination, and God as our father, falling is okay; we can get back up.
Lesson: Start doing the thing that scares you and don’t worry about failing. Failing is part of success. You got this!