Where to go
Back by popular demand and by demand I mean the 5 people I know who read this and said yeah…not bad. I want to take this time to speak on something most of us are going through right now, which is being furloughed. I’ve been at my company just shy of 2 years now and it’s been great. I started off as a new college grad looking for opportunities in PR, Marketing, Entertainment, and anywhere I could get my foot in the door. After dozens of Indeed and Linkedin searches here came CHUCK. In the summer of 2018 I started at CHUCK as a sales and marketing intern. Side note, I’ve never wanted to do sales and it wasn’t until I was promoted that I realized I’ve been doing sales in every position since I was 16, but that’s a story for another time.
As I was saying, I started off as a sales and marketing intern and now sit as a National Account Executive. Which I’d say I’m proud of at 23 years old. I’d never heard of OOH or experiential marketing before starting at CHUCK. Since the beginning it’s been a great place to grow, apply what i learned in school, and flourish into the professional that I am today. I’ve gotten to give out 100 mini pizzas at SOBS, place a 6 foot Tyler the Creator statue in Union Square, and be the lead on organizing 30 girls across 2 markets handing out over 5,000 coupons during the busiest shopping day of the year. With all of those great experiences comes an equal amount tiresome ones from long hours, to stressful meetings, and 100+ email chains with clients trying to figure shit out.
The most recent and most tiresome experience of them all has been Ms.Covid-19. This week is the 3rd month of me trying to stay on a normal sleeping schedule, keep a positive mindset, and not go insane with the hundreddds of thoughts constantly running around my mind. I will say that I was fortunate enough to have my company postpone furloughs and layoffs for as long as possible but as we all know it was inevitable. So where to go from here.
I’m a person who does what needs to get done and worry about the details of it as I go. From the moment I got the “We really tried our best…this isn’t personal call” that mentality kicked in. Networking, updating my resume, making a website, speaking to friends and doing it again. I can say that I’ve still been on the move through all of this. I CONSTANTLY worry about what’s next and where I’m going. That also comes from being raised by a single mother and needing to make sure we’re always good and things are taken care of. I’ve seen every emotion with people around me from immense hope of next steps, to nonchalantness of the situation at hand, and even worse sorrow of a lost job, internship, or dream that was just taking off.
I’m on the side of hope and a blessing being disguised as the word furlough. To me furlough is a moment to take a step back. A moment to think on what used to make you happy. A moment to think of how you’ve developed since then. A moment to change the road you’re on or jump over a speed bump in the middle of it. I am grateful for this time. Every day I’ve tried to educate myself on the current marketing world, political world, my world, and see where I fit in it. I’m still not fully sure where that is…I’m not even sure what I’m going to eat for dinner to be quite honest. But I do know that I am talented, I am resourceful, I am driven, and I am empowered more than ever.
My mindset might be different than a lot of others and that’s ok. Whatever you’re feeling during this time of uncertainty is OK. Mindfulness is a big thing I’m trying to get on and a foundation of this is learning reality in realities time. I could be wrong about that too for all I know but fuck it I’m still learning. I’m learning reality and the different parts of my life as reality allows me to. I will prevail and come out on the other side stronger then I went in, which was already pretty strong to toot my own horn. All of this to say that you’re not alone even though it can hard to see that a lot of the time. Everyone is going through a change right now and trying to do their best. So sit back, reflect, and ask yourself “so where to go from here.”