You probably read this title and said, "Man, WHAT?!" Just hear me out. Keep in mind that this is my story, but perhaps someone will be able to draw similarities or identify parallels to their own life.

I grew up in a decent two-ish family household in a nicer part of Detroit. Growing up, my mom worked and my stepdad made that good auto plant money. True to his generational teachings, he sat me down at age 17 and told me to figure out a job I wanted to do for 30 years — and get ready to work until I could retire. I gave him my best, "whatever," and did my own thing.

In the 10 plus years since that conversation, I have worked making minimum wage in retail, made more than my college grad peers working for the government, did a stint as a "self-employed" fashion designer and then worked for pennies on the dollar as a commercial flight attendant. When I tell you that the time I spent making the least amount of money has been the most freeing time of my life … LISTEN!

I've always been good at making money; not so great at saving it. I found that the more money I made, the more I felt the need to fill my life with the things that "seemed" appropriate for someone making that kind of money. I felt that I had to have a brand new car every two years (despite a ridiculous car note) and that a one bedroom townhouse wouldn't suffice, so I got a townhouse complete with a full basement that I went in, maybe, twice. Combine poor money management with high monthly expenses, and you have a recipe for disaster. While my bills were always paid on time, I'd built this revolving life of working to pay for this crap I'd convinced myself I required. I was miserable.

On a clusterfuck quest for happiness and contentment, let's fast forward to my time working for pennies (by my standards). I've now managed to enjoy the basics. I enjoy life for the blessing it is and not the stuff I've filled it with. I was making three times what I make now years ago, and I was stuck in a loop of monotony and unhappiness, so much that the money didn't matter. I even went through a serious battle with depression during that time. I'm happy now. I'm designing on a regular basis. I'm pursuing my dreams and traveling.

While I understand that these circumstances might not be ideal for most, life has managed to take me up and bring me out of it all with a positive disposition and an optimism about the future that I'm not sure I would've found had I been solely focused on the dollar signs.

judyw

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