Opportunities Always Knock

Growing up and entering the job market usually means hearing something about "opportunities knocking on the door" at least a couple times. We have it in our heads that when an appealing opportunity comes knocking, we should jump on it, because it probably won't be coming around again, and maybe no others will either. But I am here to debunk that one, because for one, I've never agreed, and two, now that I have long since made the choice to say, "actually, I think it will, and if not, I'll make it," and follow my dreams, I have figured out that it will if I approach it and/or want it to! I've also come to figure out that other, probably more perfect opportunities will come knocking, that will be developed by the experiences, growth, and knowledge you gain through shutting some doors, while deciding to walk through others.

When I was trying to decide if I would accept my placement to come to Spain as a language and culture assistant, I was working in Burbank/Los Angeles for the Disney/ABC Television Group (DATG); a Fortune 100 company, a highly sought-after employer, and one of the best known names around the world, synonymous with entertainment and Mickey Mouse. I had a job in a company that people could only dream of working for, and was making connections with high-level executives, directors, managers, and people across the boards. I was in a very blessed position, and on a path that many hope to find themselves on in life. I was going to red carpet events, premieres, press junkets, seeing Hollywood stars, in charge of the weekly employee electronic newspaper that's sent to thousands of people, helping with events and payment of major checks, and in one of the highest grossing industries on the planet, with one of the top companies in that industry.

Now, as much as it could seem like it, I'm not saying these things to be vain or brag. I'm saying them to paint a picture for you, so you realize what I "gave up" when I decided to stop looking for a new role in the company, and instead move to Spain, to a city where I knew no one, and a country where I could barely communicate, to make just 700€ a month, as an assistant teacher, in a high school. For these, and select other reasons, it was the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life to-date.

I talked to various people in my family when I found out I had been accepted, and one of the things that a lot of people reminded me of was that I currently was in a very blessed position; a position and shot that most people would kill for, and it would be wise to consider if it would be worth it to give it up just for one year abroad, in hopes of whatever growth and satisfaction I was after. (I don't think they really realized I wasn't just thinking of leaving the country for a year, but that it would be the year that would begin years of living abroad and travel.) I still remember being told that the position I was currently in wasn't an easy one to get into, and that the kinds of opportunities that were in front of me at the time, weren't the kind that would wait for me to get back. They were the kind that get passed off to the next qualified and wanting person, and would likely not end up on my doorstep again in the future. I was told that by the time I came back, things would have probably changed too much, I'd likely be too far behind the game by then, and I probably wouldn't be a good candidate for hire. And of course, I was told that it wasn't very realistic (any/all of it).

As a 23-year old recent college grad who didn't really know what she wanted to do with her life, hearing things like that definitely made me stop, and gave me something to consider. I didn't really believe anything that they said, what with my head being so hard and my will so strong, but considering that I was young and new, and they were "old" and experienced, I figured it was advice worth thinking about.

In the end, I decided that while opportunities like those don't wait on the doorstep, but instead move onto the next one, it wouldn't be the end of opportunities for me. And, clearly I made the choice to come, since I'm writing this from Sevilla, Spain, where I was placed in in October of 2012, and have been living and working since January of 2013. 

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I applied for a third year, have been assigned a different school in a different city for the coming year, and possibly going to accept the placement? Or that if I don't accept this placement and go, the other ideas I'm flirting with are:

1. Stay in Sevilla and just work in the academy again
2. Go to Lima, Peru to teach
3. Go to Hawaii to WWOOF (work on organic farms and connect with natural healers)
4. Anything else that comes to me in the next 3.5 weeks before I leave for Cali (a new idea, usually that involves a new continent, seems to find its way into my mind each week)

I know a lot of people who want to travel, want to change their lives, try something new, and move to a new place, but don't because they realize how blessed their current position is, and are fearful of not being able to regain any ground they "lose" while they're abroad or trying something different. But if there's anything I've learned while I've been abroad, it's been that so many people make the big choice to drop everything and move away. It's not as uncommon as society makes it out to be. And, even more, those people, if they do decide to return to a life similar to the one they had before, they don't find it hard to integrate and get into a role that's just as good (or better) as where they were before. 

There is absolutely no way to know what will happen in the future. We'll never know what we'll win, lose, miss, gain, have, find, or fail. But there's one thing that's for sure, if there's something you want to do and try, JUST DO IT! You'll never know what reward
s will come if you don't give it a shot! And as a quote I once read goes, "Stop thinking of what could go wrong, and think of what could go right."

Get out there and live your life the way you want, the way that makes you happy! There's only one of them you get to live, and time is finite. Don't waste it on unhappiness and dreams that are never pursued! GO LIVE BIG!

Sending charged up energy of determination and drive your way! Passing you all the power you need to do anything that faces you on this day and those to come! And hoping that you take a big chance and leap towards the life you dream of! 

Blessings, Love & MAJOR Light to all!! 

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