Man, 2017. October of that year felt like a turning point, you know? Not in some grand, cosmic way, but in a very personal, “what the heck am I doing with my life?” kind of way. I was stuck in a job that was just eating away at me. Every morning, I’d drag myself out of bed, face the same gridlock, and deal with the same soul-crushing tasks. I was just there, clocking in, clocking out. No real growth, no excitement. Just… meh.
I remember seeing some goofy online article about “Virgo Career Forecasts for October 2017.” I’m a Virgo, right? And I usually blow that stuff off, but this time, it just kinda hit different. It was talking about “significant shifts,” “new directions,” “taking bold steps.” I laughed it off, but something in my brain went, “Yeah, right. If only.” But then, that “if only” kinda bugged me. Why not? What was stopping me from actually doing something about it?
The First Sparks and Fumbling Around
So, that’s where the “how” really kicked in. I started by just thinking. Sounds dumb, but I mean, really, truly thinking about what I enjoyed, what I was good at, even just what I didn’t hate. My current gig was a cubicle farm nightmare. I needed something with a bit more… hands-on stuff. I used to tinker with old electronics, fix up computers for friends. Nothing professional, just a hobby. But that spark was there.
I decided to just start digging. My lunch breaks weren’t spent scrolling through nonsense anymore. Instead, I was pulling up job boards. Not even applying, just looking. I wanted to see what was out there in fields I had even a passing interest in. IT support, repair tech, even stuff like basic web design. It was a chaotic mess, frankly. Loads of jargon I didn’t understand, requirements I couldn’t meet.
Then came the late nights. After getting home, after dinner, instead of plopping on the couch, I’d open up some free online tutorials. Codecademy, YouTube videos. You name it. I started trying to learn some basic Python. It was excruciating. I’d spend an hour trying to figure out why my tiny piece of code wouldn’t run, only to find I missed a comma. So many times I wanted to just chuck the laptop across the room and give up. It felt like I was back in high school math class, totally lost.
Pushing Through the Awkwardness
One of the biggest hurdles was actually talking to people. I’m not a super outgoing guy. But I knew I couldn’t do this alone. I started reconnecting with old college buddies on LinkedIn. Just a casual “Hey, how’s it going?” then trying to steer the conversation into their careers. “So, what’s it like working in [their field]?” Most of the time, it was just polite chitchat. But sometimes, I’d get a nugget of information, a name, or even just a different perspective. It felt so awkward, like I was trying to squeeze information out of them, but I kept pushing myself.
I even updated my ancient resume. I think the last time I touched it was right after college. It was a disaster. I realized how little “transferable skills” I actually had for anything outside my current rut. This was a kick in the teeth, a real moment of doubt. Like, who would ever hire me for something new?
But that resume update, as painful as it was, forced me to really think about what I could put down, even from my hobby stuff. “Troubleshooting technical issues for personal computers,” “Assisting peers with software installation.” I just had to frame it right. It was like I was selling myself to myself first, trying to convince myself I wasn’t totally useless.
The Leap and the Landing
Finally, I started applying. Not for my dream job, because I didn’t even know what that was. I just looked for entry-level stuff related to IT or tech support. I sent out dozens of applications. Got a bunch of automated rejections. A few times, I even got a human email saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.” It was disheartening, but each rejection, weirdly, made me a little tougher.
Then, one day, I got an email for an interview. It was for a small IT support company. I remember walking in there, feeling completely out of my depth. The interview was tough. They asked about networking protocols, operating systems. I just told them, straight up, “Look, I don’t know all the fancy terms right now. But I’m a fast learner, I’m reliable, and I’m tired of my current situation. I want to learn, and I’ll work my butt off.” It was probably the most honest I’d ever been in an interview.
A week later, they called. They offered me the job. It was a pay cut, and the hours were a bit wonkier than I was used to. But it was different. It was a step out of that stagnant pool. I took it, no hesitation.
Those first few months were brutal. I felt like an idiot every single day. So much to learn, so many mistakes. But I was doing it. I was figuring things out, solving problems, learning new systems. That little nudge from a dumb online horoscope back in October 2017, combined with just deciding to stop thinking and start doing, truly turned things around for me. It wasn’t magic; it was just a lot of awkward steps, fumbling around, and refusing to just stay put.
