I’ve lived my whole life with this quote my grandmother taught me in the back of my head, “people will forget what you said, forget what you did but people will always remember the way you made them feel.”
My name is Hailey. I’m a 23 year old freelance social media manager living a life I never thought that I’d live. Since 2020 my new quote is “rejection is redirection” and I know I’m throwing out a bunch of cliches, but I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
I graduated in May of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. This was a weird way to navigate adulthood. Upon graduation, my goals were to get a job at an ad agency and move to a new city.
Quite the opposite happened. I moved back home to Florida with my family and began what felt like the never ending job search. Months and months passed by and I felt like I was defined by countless hours spent on LinkedIn, Indeed and Creatively. It felt wrong and disrespectful to network with people that had been furloughed or affected by COVID-19.
It was months of waking up, applying to jobs and going to bed. After some time I landed my first role in the creative freelance space which gave me a new sense of direction. I realized I needed to start doing more for ME. I took some time away from job searching to find things that made me feel good and like myself.
I started meditating, walking daily and even tried a few arts and crafts or two.
Since I do not work a typical 9 to 5, I have the opportunity to meet so many great personalities and brands.
The best part to me though is that I have more time to make sure I am taking care of my mental health.
I have a long morning routine that consists of meditating, walking and being able to make myself a nutritious meal. I have more time throughout the day for personal things like running errands or taking a workout class.
If there’s anything to be learned it is that rejection is redirection and believing in doing things “normally” is a narrow minded way of thinking. The times are changing and the pandemic has curved a new path for a unique way of approaching a work life balance.
