My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [7]
From my boss’s one phone call, I lined up three job interviews in Atlanta the very next week. I bought my first U.S. map, packed some dress clothes, and drove the twelve highway hours to get there.
The interviews went okay. I was nervous and assumed my jitters undermined my strengths. I wasn’t aware enough to know that driving to another state for a job interview took guts. Apparently this was what the interviewers wanted. They made me a job offer before I could get back to Dallas! I know this sounds too good or easy to be true, but I had never taken such a big risk with my future, so I didn’t know what to expect.
Back in Dallas I packed only what would fit in my car and drove straight to Atlanta. My friends kept calling my cell with their reasons why I shouldn’t move. They told me how tough it was going to be starting over in a new city with no friends or family nearby. But the more my friends tested my resolve, the more I understood why my move to Atlanta scared them. They were in the same place I had been one week before, watching life pass by from the safety of their parents’ couch. By getting off my mom’s couch and starting from scratch in a new city, I challenged their laziness. If I made it in Atlanta, even in a small way, they might have to take a new look at their dependence. I listened to their concerns but kept driving. If they were right, I’d be home in six months anyway.
My first night in Atlanta, I thought they were right. I didn’t know anyone, I had no furniture, I had no TV, I had no idea what I was getting into, and I couldn’t sleep. Sitting on the floor of my empty apartment I just kept thinking, “What the hell am I doing here?”
THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE
You get wise fast when you throw yourself into the world. Since moving to Atlanta three years ago, I’ve had to figure out for myself what makes me happy, what pushes me to work hard, what makes me get up early and stay out late. I’ve learned how to deal with failure, uncertainty, skeptics, and difficult people. I’ve learned to trust myself and be open to acting on whatever life has to offer.
I wanted to run a marathon, so I did it. I wanted to meet new people, so I took a second job at night at a restaurant. I wanted to move up in my firm, so I became one of the youngest people ever promoted to my position. I wanted to have my own place, so I saved and bought a house. Sure, my life in Atlanta hasn’t always been easy or fun, but it has stretched me to look inside for what I was missing. I’m not sure that would’ve ever happened if I were still living with my mom in Dallas.
You never look at your world the same way once you start making it on your own. Now I’m not afraid to go after what I really want. I’m not afraid to make new friends, ask for help, or take a risk that other people think is a bit crazy. Moving to Atlanta has taught me that when I put my life in my own hands, I have the power to make it work. I think not knowing what I was capable of doing was a big part of the uncertainty I felt about where I should go with my life. Moving to Atlanta changed all that.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
Josh’s story might sound familiar if you’ve been feeling unsure of your abilities or where to go next. But once you do decide where you want to go with your life, you can put everything you have into making that vision real.
Right now you probably have some idea of the life you’d like to have or at least some clue as to where you want to be next year and the year after that. Maybe this image is crystal clear to you and has been since you were ten years old. Maybe you’re just starting to think past next weekend. Whatever