5 Years Later

photo by pete.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t waiting for my luck to run out every single day, but here I am, exactly 5 years after I left my job at an advertising agency to go rogue. 5 years, you guys! Today I’m celebrating that.

5 years of freelancing also means that I’ve been “on my own” for the same amount of time that I was employed by that agency, which feels pretty liberating and also makes me want to take a whole day off to sit back and take a big breather. I kind of can’t believe so much time has passed since I made that big decision, and I’m still glad I did it when I did. I fell into some lucky contracts that really gave me the confidence to keep doing what I enjoyed, and the opportunities continue to grow. I still find myself reflecting back on the years I spent at my last job and I have a pretty solid personal understanding of why the conventional 9-5 wasn’t the best fit for me; it wasn’t so much the office or commute (just a lil), but I’ve learned that I’m fueled by much different incentives than they were able to offer, and I’m so much more productive being able to embrace my own pace and work style. I love it, you guys. Of course, now as I’m approaching what would have been my second paid maternity leave I’m a little miffed at myself for being in a position where I have to get by without those benefits (basically that means zero maternity leave, working during baby naps), but aside from that, whatever. At least I’m not going to be installing floors the day that I go into labor this time around, or stressing about a blog post I wanted to publish when I’m only 3 days postpartum. It’s worth it, and all I can do is hope-hope-hope I can sustain what I’ve been working on for the last few years.

These days? I’m still freelancing and taking on special contract projects, and of course, working on ways to take this here b-l-o-g to a place where it could further substantiate my income, although my own blog sure does take a backseat to everything else. I enjoy it and the passive income it provides, but the odds of me winning the lottery are better than me making the blog my sole, full-time focus. That said, I love that Merrypad can be a space where I can continue to journal my home improvement efforts and DIY projects in a no-pressure kind of way (which is all it really expected of it when I started). I like what it’s become.

Thanks to the many of you who have been following along since the early days, and for the support everyone has shown over the years.