I’m not even going to lie; I had severe writer's block this week. I mean, can you blame a sister? It was hard to focus this week. Let’s see...we had the election this week. I had technical difficulties, and for some strange reason, I had a ton of appointments and meetings to attend, so not a lot of time left for my blog. When I did have time, I simply wanted to lounge on the sofa and do nothing. Over the past year and a half, I have allowed myself to enjoy the things I love without feeling guilty. It’s ok to do nothing and lounge on the sofa. I’m so used to my life being busy with school, work, family, and all that jazz that I rarely put myself on the schedule. However, since I’ve relocated to South Carolina, I’ve been putting me on the agenda and loving every moment, but I must find some balance. It’s hard for me to walk away from the moments of relaxation for any reason. Not being able to end my me-time is an obstacle in my life. Have I gotten lazy? Or, is it that I have the option to do what I want for the first time in my life?
Finding the balance between me-time and tackling the to-do list is an obstacle I must overcome. With that in mind, I began thinking about the other obstacles I’ve overcome or didn’t and how they’ve even helped me. Obstacles can actually be a good thing. That may sound like I’m pessimistic on the verge of crossing over to the la-la land of optimism, but it’s true. Something not working out is sometimes for the best. So, embrace the obstacles. Stop and reflect on the benefits of the situation not going the way you planned. A great example is this blog post. Usually, I have my blog ideas planned out, but this week I just couldn’t get it together, but it worked out. I had a moment of reflection and thankfulness, which is always good to have every once in a while.
I am thankful that I applied for over 250 jobs before I landed my current position. Yes, you read that right. I have applied to over 250 positions. Some were not museum jobs, but the majority of them were. Some of the positions were out my league, but I was feeling bold, so I applied anyway. Some were out desperation and some I really did want. Maybe I should mention this was over the course of 3 years. Those who work in this field know it is tough to land a decent position in the cultural heritage world. Oh, I forgot to mention that I also declined the offer of 4 full-time salaried positions in the museum field. You read that sentence right too. I turned down those positions because I saw them as obstacles distracting me from my main passion, desire, and goal to work with museum Collections. Without those obstacles, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I choose my integrity over a paycheck.
I also reflected on my living situation a few years ago. I was not where I wanted to be. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been craving my own space to curate and be free. According to my Zillow account, I've been saving homes to my account since I was 14. A couple of years ago, I was living with my mom. Yes, I had the entire basement to myself, and my mom is extremely supportive of my dreams and passion, but being in my 20’s living with my mom was a mental obstacle. Being without a full space to call my own motivated me to work smarter and harder to get my place.
I say all this to say, embrace the obstacles, and embrace the journey. Obstacles are not always thrown in your life just to make things a little challenging. Those road blocks can be lessons, motivation, and saviors! So, be glad certain things didn’t work out; there was probably a great reason the universe planned it that way.
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