No more wasted time, starting now

HEY, IT'S ME. I'VE MISSED YOU. (IF/THEN PUN SORT OF INTENDED?) On a serious note, it's been a crazy time as always. I sadly lost a family friend unexpectedly, so that was really hard (and still very difficult) to process. I won't get into details, but it made me realize that life is so short. I'm not going to do anything that doesn't make me happy because it's not worth it.

As always, things are still moving along with BroadwayWorld but around the same time as my family friend's death, I kind of hit a wall with it. I was doing three interview articles one after the other (really one per month, but they still felt close to each other) and was getting a little annoyed. I had never done the same type of article in a row like that. I have done reviews, but those are more creatively flexible where an interview is just a Q&A, so it can feel redundant if you're not familiar with the artist you're writing about. I thought to myself, "Is my content becoming stale? Do I need to switch things up? Am I starting to suck at this?" It didn't help that I was doing an email interview with this specific actor. I would much rather do a phone interview because I'm more in control of the situation, but oh well. I didn't know her work too well either. Also, she decided to answer the interview questions at like 1:00 AM and they were very sloppy and hard to undersrtand. Now I'm totally not trying to be rude, I know she meant well and I am grateful that she took time out of her day to do this, but come on. That doesn't make my job any easier. She was also being a diva about the "errors" SHE apparently made AFTER the article was already posted! That's the theatre industry for ya! The article went up the same day as my family friend's funeral, like are you fucking kidding me? If she pushed my buttons any further, I would have definitely pulled that card. Like, you're not my Senior Editor. Learn your place. Now I just have to see her concert this month! LOL.

Laying in bed and pouting about feeling stuck in your career can be worthless until it isn't anymore. I applied to be a PAID freelance writer for an entertainment website in their reality TV section and they contacted me. I'm still in the process and I shouldn't even be posting about this because I'll jinx it. Oh well! For a freelance job there are so many steps. I did a regular job application, then they asked me to do another application which included a writing sample, pitching ideas, then answering a question. After that, I had to download a few apps that the company uses, and go through training which I'm in the middle of right now. I learned about their company and the types of programs they use and had to write another sample Reality TV article. The next steps are rewriting the article 1 or 2 more times with the corrections from the trainer, and then it goes to the editorial team to either be approved or denied as a writer for the site. The training process so far isn't that bad and I've never really been trained properly at any job so it felt good. I'm just afraid to once again put myself out there only to be rejected.

On top of all this stress, I got ANOTHER interview offer for a job I really want! This never happens to me so I was shocked when they emailed me. It's for an Assistant Editor position at a theater website. I've applied to hundreds, maybe even thousands of jobs over six years. There are always a few that stick in my mind and I'm always hoping they contact me. Most times they don't, very rarely they do. This is one of them. I feel like it's really a fit for me and it's an actual full-time job for something I'm interested in! I haven't really interviewed for a job since the winter, so I need to brush up on my interview skills. I actually DO want this job... FINALLY I DON'T HAVE TO BE FAKE!! We'll see what happens. It's weird to think that your life could go in two, or maybe three directions. I could be offered one of the two jobs, both, or none at all. It's scary. I don't know that I've ever been in this position before.

I always think about where I was a year ago because I'm a person who reflects. I was someone who was working from home 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was becoming extremely unhappy with my job. Any time someone would ask, "How's work?" I'd have to fake it and say "It's okay. I don't really like it but it's a job." Never did I think I'd go in a downward spiral and end up getting myself fired from the job, but I feel like it was weirdly a blessing more than a curse. Now I can focus on what I love which is becoming a writer, and I am still confident that I can get there whether it is a freelance or regular job. I already feel like I've grown as a person. I'm more cautious and aware of taking the next step and realizing what I want in a job. I will try my hardest to not make the same mistakes again because I know I am better than that and future employers will too.