This is me, during my first job after my completing my Master’s degree at 22. I was in Public Relations, eager to prove myself & climb the ranks. I thought I would come out of school and make A LOT of money immediately because I was clearly naive.
I didn’t make nearly enough to live on my own so I lived with my parents to save money.
I interviewed with the agency’s president who came floating in wearing a nylon cape from the hair stylist nextdoor. She asked me questions but all I could focus on was her head full of shiny foils from her highlights. I remember thinking “this job is going to be even more glamorous than I thought!”
It wasn’t. I still loved it because I had nothing to compare it to, honestly. I worked in Miami at the height of some major real estate projects and was responsible for representing developers who had egos bigger than their luxury high rises. They had demands that would rival the requests of Madonna or Beyoncé while on tour.
One wanted live tigers sitting regally outside his launch event. I’m allergic to cats and didn’t even think about the amount of Benadryl I would need to get through an event I was running while I was snotty, red-eyed mess, but I kept going.
One wanted me to get the mayor to his building with 24 hour notice to do a ribbon cutting and declare the day in his name. I called in a million favors, made it happen and never even got a thank you from the client. But I kept going.
One demanded a fleet of Ferraris & Lambos parked outside his grand opening because he was clearly trying to prove his manhood. He also wanted models walking around in bikinis while draped in the most expensive fur coats Saks had to offer. He sauntered over asking them to remove the fur so his wife could try it on while he ogled them in their bikinis. I was grossed out, but I kept going.
I got to attend amazing events with celebrities and fanfare and I was still young enough to think all of these things meant anything, so I kept going.
This was my first job. A stepping stone. The beginning of a path that led to where I am almost two decades later doing something completely different on my own terms all because I kept going.
So, keep going.
