30x30| #28: Warehouse + Moving Team Manager

Sometimes crushed dreams can actually turn out to be a springboard

Photo by Alicia Christin Gerald on Unsplash

In a lot of ways, the role I’m about to describe set the stage for the most exciting adventure of my life. Just as the summer seems sweeter because of the long, dark winter, so too did my next role seem even more incredible in contrast to this rather wretched one.

But let’s go back to the beginning.

It was January of 2022 and I had just wrapped up another season of Saint Nick’s. Yet, unlike in years past, this time I didn’t have anything lined up for work in the new year. I loved this because I felt so free to explore my potential, but the excitement started turning to worry as nothing seemed to come to fruition.

All autumn long, I had applied to various jobs all over the world. I applied to be a ski lift operator in Idaho, a barista at Glacier National Park in Montana, a travel guide for tour companies internationally, and more. Yet, the months went by and I either heard nothing back or received rejections.

There’s something especially humbling about being rejected for an entry level barista job after you’ve run your own cafe and barista-ed for the better part of a decade – but what can you do?

I was so excited and sure that one of these “cool” jobs would work out that I didn’t really think about what I would do if they didn’t.

However, that’s exactly the situation I found myself in.