My background story and a little bit of context
If you are a millennial, like me, your parents probably come from a generation of other values, socioeconomic backgrounds, goals, and plans for life.
I was taught very early on that I should graduate from high school, go to a top-tier college, and be offered a position in corporate where I would spend the next 20 to 30 years, ideally in the same company, and then retire. Before I turned 30, I should already have enough savings to buy my own place, be in a stable relationship, either married or engaged, and have a steady high-paying job. Kids would soon join the picture.
During my 7 months of unemployment this year, the thought of the perfect life haunted my dreams and self-worth.
At the same time, I wondered more and more what my life would be like if I didn't go for the beaten path.
I was probably 8 or 9 when we first got a "family computer" at home, so I started to see many people who were making it on their own terms.
A few years later, I discovered YouTube and started watching the new content creators. People who didn't have the formal career I was taught to seek were making money by posting videos online. As the years went by, more people joined this bandwagon.
I was 16 when I decided I didn't want to study a "traditional" course such as Engineering, Law or Medicine. I wanted to do something different, something I identified more with.
International Relations was my degree of choice and a leap of faith. The course was too new for it to have specific internships or entry-level roles, at least in my country, other than in international NGOs, which demanded volunteer work when starting out, or small cargo companies very far away. That's when first saw the main difficulties on the "not so traditional" path.
I know the only thing "not so traditional" about this was my choice of course, but even so, it was enough for me to put things into perpective.
At that time, my goal was to work for the UN, on a peace-keeping mission of some sort, in the headquarters in New York, or at least be a diplomat. Safe to say I changed my mind pretty quickly as time went on.
I ended up in tech by chance, when I found a job opening on Linkedin that required similar experience to what I had.
After four years in that industry and a severe burnout crisis, I decided to tap into what I liked as a hobby ever since I was a teenager: fashion.
Through a mentor, I got to know the founder of a small and quite tech-forward fashion company I now work part-time for as a general project manager and a do-it-all kind of person.
What my journey taught me about finding my niche in life
I think the thing I liked the most about my journey was all of the skill stacking. Through trial and error, experimenting with different concepts, visions for myself, struggles, and job experiences, I gathered a set of skills unique to me and useful in a bunch of situations.
I've worked as a salesperson and know how to not take things personally, adapt my language to suit my client, and be thorough while being concise when explaining a product.
When I wanted to be a diplomat and for the UN, I learned French and perfected my English.
When working for start-ups, I learned Spanish to communicate with other international teams and studied how digital products work. I got examples of very good and very bad leaders and got acquainted with a bunch of industry concepts.
Now, working at a fashion company, I'm learning how several e-commerce platforms work, about social media marketing, and growing sales.
During my unemployed, I learned about faith, the importance of passion and interest to keep up dedication, and got to know myself a little bit more. I also bettered my networking abilities, both online and in person.
My burnout gave me clarity about my limitations and boundaries and what a healthy mindset should look like for me.
All of this is to say that although I didn't plan for any of what has happened to me in the last years and months, it all guided and is guiding me to the niche I belong in life.
I won't say I'm close to finding my niche in life, but I feel I'm on the right track to it. The less-walked road has a lot more lumps and bumps, but it takes you to unbelievable and undiscovered places.
What has life taught you?
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