What Was Your Dream Job?
Did you ever have a dream job as a child, whether it was to become an Astronaut, Scientist, News report reader, or being the CEO of your own empire?
You did? Great, so what happened to those dreams?
Whilst a small few of us are incredibly fortunate to be living our dream job and it all worked out, the rest of us maybe had a bit of a reality check, our passions changed as we grew up and therefor our interests shift but do you ever get that thought of what if?
It was the year of 1999 and I was 6 years old in the airport waiting to catch a flight out to the Caribbean with my family (little did I know we would end up living there but that’s for another time!) I will never forget the moment I saw the most glamourous women walking towards me in their immaculate red pencil skirts, tight fitting jackets and ruby red heels and perfectly applied makeup, they were the Air Hostess’s of Virgin Atlantic. It was that very moment I knew I wanted to be an Air Hostess more than anything.
Right through school the memory of that flight never left me, it stuck with me as my destiny right though to enrolling onto a Travel and Tourism course for college, my first job in a Travel agency at aged 18, I was getting there! Every few months I would wait for the job portal for cabin crew to open again and I wasn’t going to stop until the moment I was in that red uniform and on that plane.
Then it happened!
After an incredible interview and intense 6 weeks training, I was officially cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic. The feeling was indescribable, I was so proud, so elated, the feeling was so amazing. I walked through London Heathrow for my first flight, head held high, nothing can go wro…
Wait, what was happening? I started to doubt myself, imposter syndrome was creeping in…
The weeks and months went by and I continued to carry out my duties as a flight attendant, but this awful sickening feeling didn’t leave me. What on earth was happening!? I had worked my whole life to get to this point, anxiety kicked in, tiredness, I wasn’t thinking straight and became unbelievable home sick. Even with all the support in the world from my employer, the thought of getting onto another flight made me feel physically sick and the stress was too much, it was all just too much. I wasn’t me anymore but I didn’t have a plan b, what was I going to do? What now? I questioned everything, I didn’t understand, how was this happening to me?
Inevitably I had to leave the job I had always dreamed off because it simply wasn’t right for me. I had well and truly hit rock bottom.
Now, at that point if you had told me that in years to come, I would be running a beautiful gifting business, creating jewellery gifts to uplift and comfort people and that I would love every moment of it… I would have probably hugged you and at the same time would not believe a word of it! Haha
I failed at being a flight attendant, yet that entire experience was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I learnt so much about myself, I learnt about my resilience, I learnt that I need routine, I learnt that I love making people happy, I learnt that I'm not as spontaneous as I first thought, I learnt that I definitely need a lot of sleep.. the list goes on! and I can confidently sit here and say I gave my dream a go, I now have new dreams and new adventures to be had. I have never turned down a challenge and I am not afraid of risk, living outside of your comfort zone every once in a while, can introduce very valuable lessons to your life and that should never be looked at as a negative thing.
Everybody experiences life differently and the challenges it can bring, to fail means to learn and to continuously fail means to continuously learn, use those lessons and find your passion. I am now living my new dream of running a small business with my husband, writing gift messages of inspiration, meaningful poem jewellery cards and above all positing positivity and not one day passes where I don’t feel totally and utterly blessed. It’s been incredibly hard work to get to this point and there is still an uphill climb but it is a journey I am prepared to take and I am excited for the small business rollercoaster ride!
So, remember that dream of yours?
If it's still an itch you just can’t seem to scratch, why not give it a go? Start studying, go for that job interview, apply for that business grant, start that small business, invest in yourself and your dreams. It may be the best thing you ever do.
Good luck and I hope my story can inspire you to chase your dreams.