I Quit my Job
A few months ago, I never even imagined this was a possibility, but today (June 23, 2017) I quit my job as a marketing manager to pursue blogging and YouTubing full time. At the start of this year, my plan was to keep working until I got a decent amount of work experience, and then go to a B-school abroad. I was the smart kid at school who always topped her class, and so I felt I had to do the ‘responsible’ thing and choose the more conventional and smarter (in our society’s opinion) career option. I always felt very creatively inclined growing up but I never considered pursuing a creative field because, as lame as it sounds, it seemed kind of trivial.
And so, after school, I decided to study economics. This wasn’t a decision that was forced upon me and I chose to do it because I genuinely enjoyed economics as a subject. I got through a bunch of great colleges and decided to go to Lady Shri Ram in Delhi. Post that, I’ve had a few jobs in fields ranging from finance to advertising and marketing.
This was my fourth job in the last four years and while there was nothing wrong with any of these jobs, it was just not something I wanted to be doing with my life. I felt like a fish out of water and that feeling grew exponentially with each job. I suppose it was partly because I just didn’t like the idea of working for someone else.
While figuring out which business schools to apply to, I just wasn’t excited about it because deep down I knew that’s not what I wanted. And when I thought about life after MBA, I definitely did not want to be working for someone else. Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with doing an MBA. On the contrary, I think it’s great if you see yourself in the corporate world and I’m sure it teaches you a lot, but I don’t think it’s for me.
In the last few years, all the decisions I’ve made have been for my Plan B (which was to do an MBA and get a corporate job) and I’d completely lost sight of my Plan A (which was to pursue a creative field). I’m still not sure what my Plan A is but I do know I’m not going to figure it out while I’m stuck focusing on my Plan B. I’ve spent so much time and energy setting myself up for this future that I do not want. I know that I want to be working for myself and I want to pursue something creative. I feel so passionate about blogging and YouTubing and it was frustrating me not to be able to spend more time working on that because of my full time job. And although I know I need a job to pay my rent and bills, I just feel like I needed to quit this job and explore blogging as an option because it’s only going to be harder later on in life. I’m only 24 and I don’t have anyone dependent on me so that makes it a lot easier for me to take the plunge. Also, it’s worth mentioning that I don’t regret any of my decisions so far because I’ve learnt a great deal from each of my jobs and all those choices have led me to where I am today.
Quitting a conventional job and taking the plunge into the unknown has been the scariest decision I’ve ever had to take and I would probably never have done it if not for my incredible dad who encouraged me to give this a shot. I’ve also been very fortunate to have my bosses and colleagues be very supportive of my decision. It’s scary because while I believe it is possible to make a living as a blogger/YouTuber, I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get there (I do make some money through blogging right now but it’s quite erratic). It’s also been really hard to accept that I’m going to be pursuing something unconventional and creative because of my aforementioned beliefs. Although I’m super scared, I’m also excited and for once in my life, I feel like I’m on the right path and that feeling is wonderful.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, I just wanted to give you all an update on my life because a lot of you have been following my blog and my journey as a blogger. But it’s also because I know a lot of people are sailing the same boat and I just felt that sharing my story might help some of you take the plunge too. I do believe that nothing worth having in life comes easy and if you want a particular kind of life, you have to consciously work towards it.
I also want to take a moment to thank you all because this would have never been possible without your support. As I start this new and exciting journey, I would really appreciate it if you could spread the word about my blog and YouTube with your friends and family, as that would help me reach out to more people. Also, I’d love it if you could subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already.