Have you ever sat back and thought about those big decisions that have shaped your life? And wonder how different your life would be if you had made a different decision? I do this often as it always fills me with a sense of wonder and gratitude for the choices I've made. I love my life and where I live and I wonder where I would be if I had made different choices throughout my life.
I truly believe I am right where I am supposed to be so when I look back I realize I always had the intuition to pick the right thing. I knew somewhere deep down what it was I was supposed to do.
One of the first examples I think of about this is when I was I had an interview with Q102 in Philadelphia as a promotions representative. I remember I had gone out the night before and picked up a magazine called the Cosmo Guide for the college graduate. I remember reading that during an interviews that you should show enthusiasm for the job. And being that I wasn't a very enthusiastic person at the time I decided to up my game in that department. I was really excited and talked about how awesome it would be to become part of the team. It turns out the person who interviewed me loved enthusiasm! She was literally the cheerleader of the radio station. It worked and she offered me the job.
Then I had a big decision to make. I had set a time line for trying to find a job in the music business after graduating college. It was coming in hard on that end date so I was literally a resume machine. I was churning them out that had anything to do with music at all. My initial dream was to work for a record company so I had sent my resume to all the major labels right away. I actually got a call from a woman one day who said when she looked at my resume it reminded her of herself so although she didn't have a job for me she wanted to offer me some advice on how to get my foot in the door. How cool was that! She was the one that suggested I contact local radio stations about doing work for them in any capacity possible.
The other strange thing that happened around that time was that I only sent my resume to stations that I liked. I had never listened to Q102 because it had mainly been a rap station which is just not my thing. But I saw a commercial on tv for their new morning show and they were playing Stone Temple Pilots in the background. I thought, huh...maybe they changed their format. And they had so they were added to my list of resumes going out. I often marvel at seemingly little things like this that line up to bring major changes.
Around the same time I interviewed with Q102 I had also met with a group that were concert promoters in the area. It seemed like a really interesting job and it paid $2 more an hour than the radio station. And trust me, that $2 would have made a huge difference in my life at the time. But something told me to take the lower paying radio station job. Obviously it was more high profile but I also thought it just offered more learning opportunities. It was one of my first major decisions between two good options in my life and I have never regretted it.
Years later I had another big decision to make that I truly believe shaped my life forever. I had gotten a job as a morning show co-host at a radio station at the Jersey Shore. I was thrilled. I loved the shore. I went there all through my life every summer and just felt different when I was there. Much happier and peaceful.
The radio station was located in Manahawkin, New Jersey which was right over the bridge from Long Beach Island. A shore town I hadn't spent much time in but it was surrounded by water so I was good. The problem was that every other person that worked there (the only people I knew in my new town) lived in Toms River. I really wanted to get a place on the island because I had always wanted to live at the shore for a summer so I was game to give it a try year round.
I had it narrowed down to two places to live. A pretty nice place in Toms River in a complex that would take care of trash and snow removal close to the people I knew. Or a pretty run down private place on Long Beach Island but had a view of the bay from every window in my house. I think most people would have chosen the nicer place in Toms River but I decided my environment outside was more important than my surroundings inside. So off to Long Beach Island I moved.
That first winter was very lonely. Not to mention the 31 inches of snow we got that February that I had to shovel myself. I was thinking of that Toms River apartment longingly that day! But that snowstorm had me meet a lot of my neighbors. And suddenly I had a friend or two.
The next thing that I did that was out of character for me is I decided to apply for a bartending job at one of the local hotspots and I got the gig. I was a pretty terrible bartender but I met so many people working that job. Friends that I still keep in touch with to this day. People that became my social network for all the years I lived here.
I came into my own while living on Long Beach Island. I was kept busy with two jobs and a new circle of friends that had me hanging out all the time. I had a group of friends that I got together with twice a week to play pool. I was terrible and I was their little project to help improve. One rule while playing against me was you had to bank the 8-ball to make it more fair! I also had befriended an older couple that lived down the street from me. We were all major Eagles fans so we always went out to watch the games together where I met even more people. There was also two women who had lived here for many years and took me under their wing. Whenever they went out (which was a lot) they would call me and even pick me up on their way. I was suddenly a social butterfly and loving every minute.
After four glorious years living at the Jersey Shore I had another decision to make. The traffic company that I had worked for in the past in Philadelphia was looking for people. I talked to the General Manager and he wanted me to come back. I had changed jobs while living at the shore and was making much less money than when I started in the area. As much a I loved living at the shore it was hard to make ends meet on my salary so I opted to go back to Philadelphia with a 10-thousand dollar a year raise.
Being back in Philadelphia was much different. There wasn't as much to do socially. It was harder to be active because when you live in the city you have to travel to places to engage in activities. Instead of getting on my bike outside my house and taking off I had to put it on my car and drive somewhere I could ride. Which I did. That is also when I got my dog Tucker who got me out of the house a whole lot. She was the friendliest, happiest dog ever (still is) and constantly went up to people on our walks to say hi.
But eventually we settled back in Bucks County which is my hometown. Around the same time I had the opportunity to start working for a radio station (through the traffic center) that I had grown up listening to. The people there were welcoming and eager to have me as part of the morning crew. This is when a lot of my old friends really got to hear me on the air doing my thing. It was cool!
Then I started dating my now husband. I had known my husband since fourth grade when I became friends with his sister but we had never gotten together until now. So it was clear that I was meant to be back in the Philly area. I often wonder how my life would look if I hadn't decided to come back to Philadelphia which I really didn't want to do. But sometimes it is about the money and that is where I needed to go at that time in my life.
The next big decision is what led me back to where I belong. My husband and I were in a position where we put our condo up for sale not expecting to get our asking price. We actually got an offer within five days. But we didn't have a place to live! We talked about renting a place locally or finding a place at the Jersey Shore to see if we could handle to the commute to and from work. We obviously picked the shore and within two years we started looking for a house to purchase.
When I look back on these major choices I had and how they have shaped my life I realize that I always knew deep inside what I should do. Whether it came to my career, where I lived or how I conducted my social life. There was always something tugging at me in which direction to go. Which choice should be made. And I still wonder often where I would right now if I had taken that apartment in Toms River. I don't think I would be living where I am right now for sure.
Look back on some of the major decisions of your life. How hard was it to make the choice you did? Is it something you knew was the right thing all along even though it seemed wrong at the time? When you sit still and really weigh things out to what is most important to you the answer is almost always clear.
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