My thoughts on plans…
As long as I can remember people have always asked me about my plans. What were my plans after high school? Then it was what are your plans after college? And now the question has been what are your plans after nannying? My position as a nanny will only last through August and I knew that when I accepted the job. As time goes on people keep asking me what my plan is after this job is over. And right now my answer is that I do not know. I know some of my options, but there are a lot of factors that will go into my decision. But the fact that people keep asking me this question makes me feel like I needed to solidify a plan like yesterday.
The thing about plans is that no matter how much time you put into making them, most of the time they will not play out exactly as you hope. This is because most plans are too rigid. Life is not rigid, it changes from day to day and plans should too. When plans are too rigid things almost always go wrong, or differently than planned. When this happens people have many negative emotions and this is normal. But if we start thinking of plans in a more flexible way, maybe we will not be so disappointed when things go awry. I think one of the most important things to do when a plan goes wrong is to look for the positive. Initially it may be difficult to see the positive, but in hindsight I am sure you will be able to.
A time when things did not go as planned…
In the summer of 2017 I worked at a summer camp. A family member was the director at the time and recruited me. I went and I had a blast. I met so many great people. And I learned so much. Oh, and I got to teach people about Celiac, always a plus! It was a great experience and I was so grateful for the opportunity. I worked hard that summer because the kids we served deserved that. I left camp that summer exhausted, but thankful for the opportunity to work in a camp setting.
By the spring when applications went live for the next season things at the camp had changed drastically. My family member was no longer working there and supposedly the environment was very different. I still had a desire to go back, so I reached out to my family member to make sure it was ok with them, and applied.
They gave me an interview. This was a bit weird to me, interviewing for a job I held before. But I scheduled it. I probably could have taken it a bit more seriously. But the people interviewing me had seen my work ethic, and praised me many times the summer before. I thought of the interview as something they just had to do. Knowing that I had the interview I even put in my notice at my job in Columbus thinking I was going back to work at camp.
One email destroyed my post grad summer plans of going back to camp. The email stated that they were not hiring me. I knew the decision was not based on my performance and this made me mad and sad. But after time went by I learned it was a blessing in disguise.
Some of the great things that happened because I was not hired…
So many other great things happened because I was not at camp. I stayed in Columbus for the summer. I took a job at Native and met so many wonderful people. Some of which I imagine I will stay connected with for a long time. In this position I also learned a lot. It was exciting learning new things at a job! At the coffee shop I worked at before I felt like I had little left to learn and it was slightly monotonous near the end.
I visited my brother in Chicago and saw the city like a local! I met his roommates and we enjoyed the city with little plans. They took me to the touristy sites, but we also just hung out. It was fun getting to experience Chicago in a way I never had the chance to before. Most importantly I tried some amazing gluten free food.
Over the summer my best friend was living at home, but I was able to see her multiple times before she moved to be with her man. I was even able to go and visit her family and spend a couple days having a blast at the lake. This was also the time I really got to know her brother a little better. And he is who I am dating. I know weird right…dating your best friends sibling… But if I had gone back to camp we would have not gotten the opportunity to know one another better in this part of our lives. So not getting the job really had a trickle down affect that in the moment I opened that email I never expected.
So how should I make plans?
So I do not think it is really reasonable to never plan anything. I imagine nothing would ever get done. It would just be chaos. But like I mentioned before, when planning things be more flexible. You do not need to plan every last detail. Plan the big things and let the little things fall into place. And just know that everything happens as it is supposed to. Sometimes things work out exactly as planned and it is so wonderful. And other times not a single thing goes as planned and you need to be ok with that. The times where nothing goes as planned usually means that there is so much more out there for you.
Oh and just know, it takes time to develop this mindset and I did not always have it. One time I was in Ireland for a study abroad and only one weekend remained for travel. One of my classmates planned our weekend trip and it went differently than I expected. I was so mad and because of it did not enjoy the weekend as much as I wish I would have. Not only that, but I was mean to her and she put a lot of work into planning the trip. That is definitely something I regret about that trip and not one of my best moments.
My current plans…
So for right now my plan is to be present in the moment. To enjoy my time as a nanny and my time in this amazingly dynamic and diverse city. My plan is to not ‘sweat the small stuff’ but instead look at the bigger picture.I plan to keep blogging and building an amazing online community. But also loving my real life friends and family and supporting them in any way I can. And career wise I plan to one day become a registered dietitian and help people find a healthy relationship with food.
And when I know more on my plans between being a nanny and grad school I am sure I will let you know.
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