Adventure Happens (PT 2): Plan for Change

Long ago, I told my tale of an adventure that has since come and passed. But it appears that some lessons are recurring in our lives.

I am a list maker.
I make lists of things I need to get done and even make lists of things to make lists of.

When taking the Strenghsfinder test at work it was no surprise that my first strength is Strategic, with my subsequent strengths also falling into the Strategic Thinking and Executing categories.

That being said, it has been a hard lesson for me to learn that life does not care about my perfectly detailed list of plans. After all, isn’t this supposed to be an adventure?

“It was amazing how you could get so far from where you’d planned, and yet find it was exactly were you needed to be.”
― Sarah Dessen, What Happened to Goodbye

Plans Are Just That, Plans:  I am certainly not where I thought I would be at 26 years old. I thought I would have the house, high level job, and the 2.5 kids (likely of the dog variety). I was absolutely incorrect. Despite my best efforts and detailed plans, life had another plan entirely.

Re-Drawing My Map: As I stated in my post “Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself”, I have returned home to Oregon with Aslan, and began my career with Wilco after a 3 year hiatus from the Marketing world. I have now been with Wilco for more than a year, and have been promoted from Marketing Support Specialist to Online Catalog Specialist. Joining the Wilco Marketing Team was the first step in my next adventure.

Dusting Off the Tool Box: I’ve always had a love of print advertising. There’s something about touching your final work that makes it feel so satisfying. Venturing into the world of digital media has been a tremendous learning experience and has given me so many opportunities to continue to fill my “tool box” of skills. Adobe Illustrator was the bane of my existence in college. I dreaded opening that program for fear that I would look like I had no idea what I was doing.

Becoming the Online Catalog Specialist has forced me to not only open Illustrator, but to become efficient in that program. InDesign has always been my bread and butter, but now Illustrator ranks much higher in my list of favorite Adobe programs. I had also never dealt with managing a website, aside from tinkering with my own. I am now fully responsible for maintaining our online catalog. Again, this is something I never dreamt of doing. Being uncomfortable forced me to learn and grow, while giving me some valuable skills to add to my “tool box” along the way. With the help of my team, and all of their support, I’ve found something new to be passionate about.

By no means am I telling you to quit planning and making goals. Goals are crucial to moving forward in life. If you plan, plan for change and seize every opportunity for growth.

Life might not go according to plan, but every plot twist is an opportunity for development. If you’re uncomfortable: adapt and learn.  Who knows? You might just enjoy the new opportunity.

-Brittany Bee

For more adventures, follow me on Instagram.