Oh hi there, it’s been a while! Sorry for ghosting for over a year, my bad!
A lot has changed in the past uhhhh 19 months? But before we get into that, let me be honest:
I’m sick of creating for the algorithm.
I’m sick of keeping up with SEO best practices, trying to follow trends, and researching short-tail and long-tail keywords to try and trick a search engine into showing people my thoughts. I’m sick of researching to see what people are looking up online in the hopes that maybe, just maybe!! my website or videos will pop up in the search results for someone who will enjoy it.
So I’m just not gonna do it anymore.
Starting now, I’m refocusing on ME and what I want to say. I’m not going to worry about the expectations or the standards surrounding the creative content industry. As far as this blog goes, from now on I’m writing about my experiences and my feelings as a way to “get them out onto paper” in a manner of speaking. Essentially, this is me shouting into the void. And if my words resonate with someone else? If there are others out there who relate and enjoy the words I’m spewing? THAT’S INCREDIBLE!
But let me be clear: I’m doing this for me.
There are a lot of things I love (and quite a few things I don’t) and I want to talk about them. So I will!
Divorcing Digital Marketing (forever? idk)
Separating this blog and myself from things like SEO and KPIs is honestly going to be hard for me at first. I have a degree in marketing and a minor in visual design, so I’m incredibly accustomed to making things for other people (people sometimes being a sick euphemism for “robot overlords”.)
I spent almost my entire adult life up to this point in some form of sales or marketing position, with my last job being a marketing associate on the SEO team for a boutique digital marketing agency. I honestly thought that was going to be the be-all and end-all for me: work my way up in the firm and manipulate the internet little by little to better service my clients every day until I retire.
But I quickly grew burnt out on client-centric culture and overworked myself to appease the All-Knowing Algorithm. With one foot already out the door, I was let go in May.
Luckily, I had already started working on a new plan for myself.
Mental Struggles and Morning Calm
While I was still struggling to keep my career afloat at the marketing agency, my own mental health was left floundering.
I was in one of the worst depressive episodes of my life (but not THE worst, so at least there’s that.) After months of suffering and looking for solutions, alongside loads of therapy of course, I came to a realization.
I needed to get out.
Out of my city? No, not enough. My state? No, still too small scale. Out of the USA? Yeah, that’s a start.
So, I made the plan to not only leave the US but to move to the OPPOSITE side of the planet. After hours of research and at least three phone calls with an advisor, not to mention countless back-and-forth emails, I started my journey to teach English as a Foreign Language. Destination: South Korea!
I lost my marketing job in late Spring 2023 and started my new life as an English teacher in Korea in late Summer of the same year. It’s wild how just letting go can make things happen so fast.
I’ve been living and working in South Korea for over a year now. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been exactly what I needed.
My Life Now
Moving to a new country — especially one so far away from everyone and everything you’ve ever known — really makes you evaluate how you look at your life and the world around you. I started to see everything in a brand new light.
While learning a new language and a new culture, I’ve also been learning more and more about myself. I’ve been more gracious with myself, forgiving myself for mistakes and allowing myself room to grow and change. In such a homogenous country, I’m already seen as an “outsider” here. So why not try new things and be a little weird?
It’s been freeing in a way I never expected.
My mental health is still not perfect (ADHD and Bipolar 2 will do that to ya, I suppose) but the roller coaster has gotten a lot less bumpy along the way. I’m taking the time to reacquaint myself with myself, something I always felt too busy and frantic to do while living in the States.
Korea may not be my end goal, as I first expected, but it has been a welcome pit stop on this journey that is my life. I do not regret a single choice that led me here.
I don’t want to be TOO open about the next steps in my plan but just know big moves are happening. How big? How soon? I guess you’ll have to wait and find out.
Thanks for Reading
All in all, I’m just grateful to still be here. There’s been many times in my life I thought I wouldn’t live to see 30. And here I am, 32 years old and planning a bright and hopeful future for myself. Thank you to everyone who has supported me at any point along the way.
And thank you to ME. For making it this far. For continuing to try. For making a commitment to be better; do better. I’m going to keep living this life for me. And maybe I’ll keep writing about it, too.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. <3
I wish you all the love and positivity you can possibly carry.
