Funny to think that one year ago I was on a plane back to Yellowknife for the Thanksgiving weekend. I was like many other students heading back to Yellowknife while being away from school. The only difference was I really wasn’t happy with my situation.
I was in Dawson Creek, BC, a fine city of 10,000 people, taking a program for Business Management or something or rather, I was 1 of 3 people in the classes. This was a problem. The content was very dry, and very unappealing. To top that, because of the lack of human interaction I was getting, and being to reserved to go out, I went into a depressing slump.
I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t learning anything, and I wasn’t meeting anyone. Sure you can blame this partly on me for not taking the initiative to get out, but that was just who I was. Needless to say when I went home for Thanksgiving, I made the decision to quite school and drive back to Yellowknife upon returning to Dawson.
I do not regret that decision one bit, maybe I regret the $5000 I was in debt, but that just comes with the experience. Over the next year I got to do some amazing things, and grow as a person. I worked my way out of debt, slowly, wrote up business proposals, got government funding, consulted at a large conference, had a booth at a trade show, covered all most every event in Yellowknife during the time, was “Media” at the 30th Folk on the Rocks, fell in love with Hawaii, got a “good job, we should talk” from the mayor of Yellowknife, toured around Alberta and BC in September (creating the current debt I have now) and got offered a job on the eve of my 20th birthday in August.
Needless to say I took the job and that is what leads us to today. Had I not do all those things, and pushed myself to get out of my shell, I don’t think I would have taken the job, nor do I think I would have been offered it. I’m a bit of a believer that the resume is dead, and in this case mine was, I don’t even know where it is, my boss – friend – Andrew, kept a close eye on me for a year after we met in Dawson Creek, while I was in school, and I guess thought I had the potential to help grow his business.
The story of what I actually do at work is for another day, but I will close this post with a smile on my face, because I’m happy. Although I’m in debt $3000 right now and am 1500km away from family and the city I love, I know I’m in the right place and I’m having a blast doing it. I’m a huge believer in only doing what you love, and I can truly say I love what I’m doing. I’m working in a great place, with great people, with a LOT of great opportunities.