when it all pays off

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When it all pays off

Not long ago I started my first job ever. Maybe I was 13? I assisted the community art coordinator with the instruction of art to elementary aged students over summer break. We called it Art in the Park; a joy of a job, and a fantastic first.

Somewhere between Art in the Park and today, I’ve accumulated something I think we call a work ethic. I’m not sure if it was my time spent planting seeds at a greenhouse, doing chores for senior citizens, folding thousands of t-shirts for a store or scrubbing toilets… but I’m here in this place, this place of new fronts. A place that allows me to be thankful for my time spent doing odd jobs for the sake of building a strong work ethic.

If you had asked Matt and me five years ago what life would look like in five years… it wouldn’t have looked like this.

There’s no denying that the opportunities that have been presented to me are ones of advantage. I know I’m fortunate and I know the experiences offered are ones of fortune. But intertwined amongst those great fortunes have been hard work, diligence and a tiny bit of sacrifice.

This path that I’m on has all the same destinations that I wanted five years ago, some probably dating back even longer ago… desires of the heart impressed onto me even as a little girl. It’s just that the distance amongst each destination had many more miles to travel than what could have been seen by the eye. It took enduring the journey to recognize that the eye can play tricks on you.

Matt and I still look ahead to many of those exciting destinations and now know better than ever that the wait is worth it, and anticipation has the power to create some of the happiest feelings.

So maybe I would have loved a full time professional job straight out of undergrad, and maybe I would have enjoyed not having to move fours hours from home, but then all of this, all that we’ve worked so hard for never would have been a thing. And looking back, I’m just not sure the "easy way" was ever the best way.

New fronts are happening.

I assure you scrubbing toilets, scrapping plates and planting seeds: pays off.
Taking risks, moving away from home and going back to school: that pays off too.
Waiting patiently, executing the work in front of you and believing in yourself: yep… that's totally worth it.