Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only thing constant is change,” and as a millennial who has been through several recessions, 9/11, and a global pandemic all before 40, I embrace the chaos now. I no longer believe in once-in-a-lifetime experiences and if some of us had more money I’d suggest that we all collectively play the lottery as those born between 1981 and 1996 are deemed the unluckiest generation. It’s almost as if it wasn’t for bad luck we wouldn’t have any but we’ve been doing a great job though out of making lemonade out of the lemons we received. From starting businesses to burnout to even early midlife crises, I could see that bit after the cards that we’ve been dealt. What amazes me is that we still rise to the occasion. For example, millennials are leading the work-from-home movement.

Personally, I’ll say that all this chaos has taught me to be flexible, and fearless, and to go after things that are fulfilling (money doesn’t always equal fulfillment). I think it had something to do with the pandemic. It was a chaotic shift while I was working from home I had a, “Sure money feeds my stomach but it will not feed my soul.” I would log off work and set up vaccine clinics, coordinate food drop-offs with the Braddock/North Braddock Food Coalition (we dubbed it that), run a monthly online community newsletter, and find ways to keep my hands busy by building community. That’s what feeds my soul.

Yesterday, I expressed boredom to a coworker. I was a bit of a mentor to her and I told her, “I’ve been in tech for 10 years. I don’t see the end product. What is our why? How am I helping? How is staring at a screen for eight hours a day teaching me anything? This is the longest I’ve stayed in any industry. I’m bored.”

The “B” word is how I know that I’m done with something. My core values are Education, Creativity, and Passion, and if I can’t align something with those values I don’t see a purpose to it.

Then my coworker responded to my “B” word admission by saying that trying new jobs, starting all over doesn’t fun, and the dreaded, “Aren’t you afraid of change?”

That sentence broke my heart and made me cringe inside. Research shows that job hoppers, although hated, make significantly more money over time than their peers who are loyal to one company. Apparently, you’re supposed to change jobs every two to three years to see a nice pay increase.

I thrive off change! Life has prepared me to shake things up, try new things, and lean into things that scare me. The “Let’s try to make our hobbies and our passion projects our full-time fulfilling job” transition is slowly happening and I love it because slow and intentional is the right way to build anything. Anything quick doesn’t last and usually isn’t intentional or worth having.

At the end of the day, try everything today because tomorrow might not happen and I’m here for that. The universe is always laughing at us while we’re busy making plans anyway so don’t just plan… Do! Go on a trip (the money will come back), try that hobby that lands you at the top of a skateboard ramp with one day of experience, apply for that job in a new field, and just keep leaning into the butterflies because if you don’t you’ll one day sit back and wonder “What if.” My life goal at some point became to “Keep turning my what ifs” into “remember whens.” I’ve been a secretary, freelance writer, IT Technical Analyst, Flight Attendant, and so much more. I don’t ever plan to question, “What if,” because I lean into the butterflies.

“What do you desire? What makes you itch? What sort of a situation would you like?… What would you like to do if money were no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life? You do that. And forget the money. If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living and that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing. Which is stupid.” – Alan Watts