I have a tough time expressing myself. You’d never know it given my industry – marketing. I mean my job is to tell stories for a living! And I’m really good at it. But when it comes to explaining the way I feel about something personal, I can’t seem to put it into words.
So when Daniel asked me to write a personal post about myself I had no idea what to write. My head spun around with different ways I could approach this. The truth is, I think I’m pretty simple. I work, try to work out (adding this back to my resolutions for 2017), love good food! SO MUCH!! I watch too much BAD TV, and I love spending time with those I love: Family, Friends, and the Love of my Life. With that said, my simple self has had the opportunity to do some amazing things. One amazing thing was moving to Los Angeles almost 2 years ago. (March 20th is my anniversary)
This was one of the most crippling, daunting, fearful, amazing, enlightening, beautiful, and courageous things I’ve ever done in my life. You see, although I bought my first condo in Toronto at 29 and moved out at around 31, I never really experienced moving away from home. I don’t even classify moving from Pickering to Toronto as a major move. I was less than an hour from home and visited every weekend. I had just enough space to do my own thing, but close enough that if I needed anything, my family could come and help me out. Moving takes such a big commitment, there is so much you need to take on board, plus you cannot forget to call and book a moving company like atlanta ga movers (for me it was Toronto movers), otherwise, you are lugging a sofa wishing you were a better planner. It can be overwhelming.
When I accepted the offer to move to Los Angeles to lead the West Coast Marketing and Communications team in LA, I hadn’t yet come to grips that I would be moving all by myself, leaving my parents, my best friend and sister, my devoted boyfriend and friends behind. I was swept up with the excitement of moving to sunny California, never seeing snow again, heading up my own team and hell, becoming the BOSS I always knew I was going to become. However, there were other things I was worried about, of course. One of those things was where I was going to live once I moved over there. Luckily, I had a friend who already lived near Los Angeles, so she was able to tell me about a company that could help me find my dream LA home. My friend told me that Maureen Megowan specializes in Rancho Palos Verdes real estate, so I did look on their website to try and find my next home. After some time, I eventually sorted living arrangements out and I began to feel more excited about my new chapter.
For some of you, this might sound like the easiest thing in the world. But for me, a late bloomer in more ways than one, this was my first major move from home. At 35 I felt all the feelings a first year university resident student would feel. Lost, scared, confused, wondering WHY THE HELL DID I DO THIS?! Not even sunny LA could convince me that I had made the right decision. For MONTHS (many months) I struggled and put on a brave face. I had to remind myself every day that this was the right decision and that I was capable of it. I had a heavy case of FOMO and as a bandaid, I poured myself into work and let that be my distraction. It was a great distraction, but maybe not the best way to settle into my new city.
But with time (about a year!!), I let myself explore a little, make some friends and start to build a life in my new city. What this move helped me with, is to face some real fears I had about meeting new people, getting out of my comfort zone (which I still struggle with) and trying something new! In no way am I saying that I don’t still struggle with some of the above, but, if I learned anything:
- Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations is the only space in which you will find true growth and,
- You’re capable of more than what’s in front of you.
I dared myself to be my true self: quirky, silly, a nerd at heart, lover of street fashion with no interest of knowing one designer from another, a lover of music, great food and art. This is me. I dared myself to explore new environments and be honest with myself. Far from done, I’m still daring myself to that every day. Wanna join me?
Photos by Lesli Fairweather
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