This Little Light of Mine

The time of the year is quickly approaching where I yet again have to question exactly what I want to do with this little light of mine to make it shine. While for some people, this isn’t a question often asked either because their light is already shining super bright or they are in a job/place in their lives where everything is good enough not to want to rock the boat with too much questioning and changes.

Fortunately or not, it seems I am not one of those people. I find myself constantly searching for my passion; that job that I don’t dread going to on a Monday morning; that thing that I can loose myself in for hours (besides reading) and not even notice time floating by because I love doing it so much; something where I’m so excited about it, I would do it even if I weren’t getting paid (although I’m all about earning an income). I know all seems a bit naïve to some, but I consider myself lucky enough to have a small group of friends who act like a cheering squad chanting ‘find what makes you excited and happy!’

Earlier, I said the time of year is approaching because I work on contract terms with my job and my current contract ends that the end of June (basically RIGHT around the corner). So the big question playing on repeat in my mind these days is ‘What’s next?’ The choices seem many but really boil down to a few things….I basically want to do something more creative* or at least a job that allows me to create things during a big part of my day, but also allows me to pay rent in whatever city I’m living in. In my version of a dream life, I would divide my year living somewhere in Africa (I’m not really tied to any particular place right now although Maputo was the most instant love I’ve had so far, but I still want to explore West Africa and Tunisia); going back to New York several times a year as part of the job and to see family and friends; and also going to a Spanish speaking country (Latin America or Spain) because I love the language and thinking in another language (although maybe French or Portuguese speaking country in Africa would kill this urge). Oh and I’d be working for myself.

So anyway, as a new period lingers on the very near horizon, I’m considering how to find something that I’m really excited about and how to get more involved with that and still pay rent.

*NOTE: I know that is very vague but I thinking along the lines of interior design (just in case you didn’t notice that the majority of my favorite blogs along the side have to do with interiors). It is weird how much art stuff I’ve done in the past and how much I enjoyed it all, but never took it seriously (2 years of ceramics in high school, photography, art history (which I LOVED), and jewelry making in my spare time during grad school days in DC).