Fancy this. It’s been well over five years since I’ve written in this space. From then to now, I’ve put my words elsewhere – in ads, in marketing copy, in corporate blogs. That’s because sometime around 2014 I decided it was in my best financial interest to get a full-time job with benefits. That realization came sometime after I almost hocked my mom’s wedding ring to buy groceries. Sitting in the parking lot of the pawn shop, crying in the car, I resolved to extend myself beyond the unpredictability of freelance work.
I looked for a “real” job for months after. Age seemed to factor into hiring decisions, and as much as human resources “thought leaders” tell you age isn’t a thing, it’s a thing. Especially if you’ve been freelancing for seven years and are in your 40s.
Still. Thanks to my blogging relationships, a friend I’d met in this space hooked me up with a recruiter who forwarded a job my way, which I ended up taking. How I got that job is a serendipitous thing – I acted strange and weird in my job interview with my filter completely off – and it so happened that the woman I interviewed with was also strange and weird. In the most wonderful way. After a series of interviews with other people in the company (many who didn’t appreciate strange and weird as much as I’d hoped), I finally got the job as a content specialist. Then almost straight away I was asked to develop a content strategy plan for the entire company. That’s another story. But boy did that shake my comfort zone.
As it should be. As it was.
For three years I worked at this fantastic company with people I loved doing work I fancied.
Then I felt it was time to move on (as so happens with the Debbie brain) and I took a contract job as a UX content designer at a company closer to home.
That was a bust.
Man, did I despise that company’s egos and culture.
So I found another job as a copywriter at an in-house agency – again, thanks to the blogging friend who helped me the first time. (Blogging has paid out more benefits than I could have ever imagined.)
I’ve now been at that in-house agency for more than three years and I love it. One, because even though I majored in ad copywriting in college, I’d never 100% worked as one. And two, because I am proud of what my company does and who it does it for. Think connecting the world.
Anyway, about three months ago, I realized I missed free association, just-for-me writing. I pined for the days of baring my soul and saying whatever.
So I’m back.
And for the most part, writing for myself. All my original readers have moved on to other lives and the entire blogging culture has changed. But for me, it’s always been the words. No matter who’s reading.
As it should be. As it is.
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