“Take a good look around, Doris, because your future’s about to change.” – Lewis Robinson.

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Life has been a never-ending cycle of toil.

Working part-time while interning has demanded several hours of my attention. With that comes sacrifices. I find time spent with family and friends has diminished, and my future aspirations and goals cannot be realized with my current commitments. My personal care has also taken the back seat, leaving me exhausted and without room to recharge.

I’ve hit an ironclad wall.

Finances are important. As is my aspired career.

But so is my health.

I tend to be more selfless than selfish. I’m convinced this was conditioned in elementary school, as selfishness is considered just that—selfish. Doing what was in my best interest without regard for others ensured incrimination and had to be avoided if I didn’t want to be labeled a villain in society.

But 2024 has been a pivotal year for me. I’m challenging previous beliefs that seem to be the status quo yet are more faulty in design than once perceived.

My over-involvement with work had to be addressed.

Requesting a week off from work initially felt awkward and abnormal. Yet, it felt right simultaneously as I expressed my needs to my supervisor.

“That’s not a problem,” she said. “Take as much time as you need, and just give me a call when you’re ready to come back.”

Time off from work gave me the breathing room I needed from our fast-paced society. It allowed me to take a step back from life and reevaluate my trajectory—where my actions will take me if I don’t change my current habits.

My week started off focusing on my internship. I was interviewing people at an event my university was hosting—a one-man band with a camera and tripod, trying my best to make a solid news video for the paper. It was a daunting task I hadn’t done in a few years due to complacency. Yet, I fought my way through, telling myself, “I will handle it.”

That affirmation got me through the day and the week while I edited the final presentation.

“Finally,” I told myself. “You’re back filming and editing videos, doing what you love. And you’re good at it.”

I also worked on other treatments for the internship, but mid-week, I realized I needed extra time to complete them.

My work schedule doesn’t allow me the energy to produce the high-level content I can achieve. Sure, work provides income. However, the compromise would rob me of enjoying my internship experience of mastering storytelling skills.

I took another week off of work.

This week, I introduced a balance between internship duties and my personal life into my routine. I allocated time for things I love doing—morning meditations, listening to music on my record player, and enjoying my newfound hobby of watching Sunday football.

I didn’t compromise. There was a time for working and a time for living life. And I was recharged with energy and purpose as a result.

I finished all the tasks I hoped to complete by that weekend and treated myself to a three-mile run.

The last thing on my to-do list was to pause and reflect.

I decided to go to the gym with a high school friend that weekend also. The gym he brought me to was very prestigious, with postmodern lighting. Something about the ambiance made me reflect on my self-worth. I was successful throughout my adolescence, though adulthood has been less kind. I consistently live in a sense of lack—that I’m not worthy to be wealthy, get a more satisfying job, or achieve great things.

I’ve always known that I can become affluent. The issue is the cognitive dissonance of pleasing people and putting others above my needs. Part of me wants to live in the past and just give up, admitting that I peaked in high school. But thank God these two weeks proved to be different. I started doing things for myself, and it trained my mind to accept that I am worthy of having needs—worthy of higher achievements.

Walking into this newfound gym got me excited.

“You know?” I told myself. “I am worth this type of luxury. I am worth taking care of. And someday, I’ll have the money to afford this lifestyle and live abundantly.”

Addressing my needs was the best thing that could have happened this month. Being selfish isn’t bad. It’s necessary. Taking a two-week break helped me reevaluate my life’s purpose.

It’s time to stop being complacent, and it’s about time I found a new job.

To the future—prepare to be amazed.