Everything Does Happen For a Reason

I have been MIA since I caught a summer cold a few days ago. I have been thinking about how the choices we make affect our lives. Recently I re-discovered that I enjoy writing and wanted to pursue it as a possible career. This was a change from the corporate customer service-oriented jobs I've had over the last few years, which were personally very unrewarding. I started out as a reporter for a college newspaper years ago and soon became a regular feature writer. I loved everything about the experience and the reward was seeing my name in the byline and knowing it was my own hard work that was there for all to see. I felt that my work made a difference to someone and gave something for people to think about. My mark was there and I wasn't nervous about criticism or negative feedback. After graduation I looked for work as a writer at different publications in my area. I got a job at a weekly newspaper and became a staff writer immediately. It was a good place for me to hone my craft, however I was too unfocused at that point in my young career. I needed to spend more time learning from my editor and about the workings of the newspaper. Finally my editor sat me down for a talk. She had provided feedback to me before so I knew that she really liked some of my features. However, she looked at me as a lost cause. She stated that I wasn't cut for being a reporter and suggested that I try my luck in the customer service field.

I don't think I realized until years later how her words affected me. I was very impressionable at that point and her words crushed my spirit. I gave up writing right then and packed my portfolio to the back of my closet. I think that looking at any of it would painfully remind me of a chance that I threw away. A few months later I was working at a financial institution as a customer service representative. I had literally taken my former editor's words to heart, even hearing myself say that I was done with writing so that my current employer would take me seriously that I wanted to answer questions with customers on the phone. I gave up what I had truly enjoyed. Then another piece of my life was falling into place without my realizing it. I had met my future husband who has helped me realize that my dream of writing was not lost. I had lost my positive energy from all those years ago but that I could dust off the clips I had saved for prosperity and begin a new chapter. I could write for me and develop my craft again. So this is where my choices have brought me. Right where I belong and being true to myself.