A Smooth Sea Never Made A Skilled Sailor
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I'm interuppting the scheduled blog to talk to you about something that's been weighing heavily on my mind this week.
When I was 17 years old I graduated high school, I have the embarassing graduation photographs to prove it - think heavy black eyeliner, beyond dead bleach blonde hair and a skirt that looked more like a belt than a piece of clothing. I skipped off happily into the big wide world clutching my (lets face it) average exam results in one hand and a million unanswered questions about what is supposed to happen next in the other.
I don't really think it's fair to send 17 year olds off into the world to make choices about the rest of their life. To say I was completely clueless and oblivious about... well EVERYTHING is an complete understatement. Anyway, off I frolicked, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. Life will beat you down, you can fall to the ground and curl up in a ball (which, I have done more than once, no judgement) or choose to learn and grow from the hardships and keep moving forward. As long as you keep getting back up, keep trying, and keep pushing, all whilst yelling "F YOU LIFE!" you will get to where you want to be.
I'm interuppting the scheduled blog to talk to you about something that's been weighing heavily on my mind this week.
When I was 17 years old I graduated high school, I have the embarassing graduation photographs to prove it - think heavy black eyeliner, beyond dead bleach blonde hair and a skirt that looked more like a belt than a piece of clothing. I skipped off happily into the big wide world clutching my (lets face it) average exam results in one hand and a million unanswered questions about what is supposed to happen next in the other.
I don't really think it's fair to send 17 year olds off into the world to make choices about the rest of their life. To say I was completely clueless and oblivious about... well EVERYTHING is an complete understatement. Anyway, off I frolicked, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Fast forward to now. I'm not 17 anymore, I'm not even 27 any more... I'm 28. "Gosh, that's old", I hear some of you exclaim (cheeky buggers). You're probably thinking that I must be some bad ass boss lady, or a mother, or a wife, or a spy. I'm actually none of those things, although if I was a spy I wouldn't tell you! I'm a student *cue gasp*. A hair and make-up student *cue bigger gasp*.
At 28 years old I made a decision to quit my old life, a life that clueless and directionless 17 year old Sam had moulded for us. It wasn't what I wanted, it wasn't even what 17 year old me wanted. I decided to give it all up and start a fresh. I thought that it would be easy for a sensible and hard working 'mature age' person like me - I thought that they would be lining up at the door to get a piece of this. Turns out that if you haven't done certain things before the age of 25 they start to get extremely hard to do, and, no matter how many quotes I've read about never being too old to start something new, life, cruelly, appears to have other plans.
At 28 years old I made a decision to quit my old life, a life that clueless and directionless 17 year old Sam had moulded for us. It wasn't what I wanted, it wasn't even what 17 year old me wanted. I decided to give it all up and start a fresh. I thought that it would be easy for a sensible and hard working 'mature age' person like me - I thought that they would be lining up at the door to get a piece of this. Turns out that if you haven't done certain things before the age of 25 they start to get extremely hard to do, and, no matter how many quotes I've read about never being too old to start something new, life, cruelly, appears to have other plans.
This post does have a point, and it's not 'If you're over 25, you're over the hill'. Progress has been slow, almost snail paced, with my new found career. Things haven't been easy and there have been so many knock backs and dissapointments and defeats. I can't count the number of times when I've thought it would be easier if I just went back to my old life, as unhappy as I was. But, if I do stop to think about it, progress, however slow, however little, has been made and even though I have taken 2 steps forward and 7 steps back so often that it probably looks like I'm doing some kind of uncoordinated dance, when I do take a step forward it is not just a step, it is a victory.
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. Life will beat you down, you can fall to the ground and curl up in a ball (which, I have done more than once, no judgement) or choose to learn and grow from the hardships and keep moving forward. As long as you keep getting back up, keep trying, and keep pushing, all whilst yelling "F YOU LIFE!" you will get to where you want to be.
Keep Smiling,
Love Sam x
Love Sam x
Glad you made that step to change careers. It's not easy but too many of us stay in careers that aren't fulfilling. Great work!
ReplyDeleteHey Maren,
DeleteI'll happily take your pat on the back - I'm glad too! Thank goodness I decided to chase my dreams.
Thank you for your comment and for supporting my blog. I appreciate it so much! Can't wait to read more of your blog posts.
Keep smiling,
Sam x
Keep at it Sam... you're dreams will come true!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful comment. Thank you so much! It made my day.
DeleteKeep smiling,
Sam x
I feel you Sam, life can be a struggle. I'm going on 38 yrs. come next month and still trying to figure out my life. The one comment I can't agree with you more on is taking those 2 steps forward to get knocked back 7 additional steps. As frustrating as it is I too have the F YOU LIFE attitude and continue to fight on. Let's keep in touch. Great article!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Ken,
DeleteThank you so much for you comment. It's an actual joy to write these blog posts and for people to actually read them and write me a comment! So exciting. I'm glad you continue to fight... I know you'll get there in the end, we all will. Would love to keep in touch. I saw you followed my blog. Thank you so much for your support.
Until next time, keep smiling,
Love Sam x
Love this post! Congrats to you for going out there and having the guts for changing your life. I know so many people who don't like their job and wouldn't dare do what you have been brave enough to do. Keep going, hard work pays off. Melissa x
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa,
DeleteThank you so much. I really appreciate it. There are days where I don't feel very brave, and feel more like I've made a HUGE mistake, and there are days where I feel on top of the world chasing my dreams. Hard work does pay off though, I really believe that. I loved reading your comment. Thank you for making my day.
Keep smiling,
Love Sam x
I'm 31 so older than you and I don't think it's old at all! I've only just started working out what I want to do and doing it! I never knew what I wanted to do when I left school and never had a set career in mind. Lots of my friends are only just chasing their dreams and goals now, in their 30s and above, and realising what they want to do. I think it's so much pressure sometimes at school to have to decide what you want to do in education and for your future, when you honestly might not have a clue! I only wish I'd known back then what I'd want to do now and perhaps I would have realised my passion a lot sooner :)
ReplyDelete