I am a career nomad.
I change jobs pretty regularly and am forever thinking about the next big idea, project, or position I can take on.

I think in completed pictures. Big visions. Audacious goals.
As I learn who I am both personally and professionally, I realize I am projected minded.
Being confined to a building for ten hours a day makes me feel restless and stifled–even when I am in control of how I spend my time.

I wrote my job description for the job I currently have and I am happy and grateful, but I’m still itchy.

While I change jobs like hairstyles (I actually change jobs more often than hairstyles ’cause ya girl is faithful to the wash and go) each job has always been firmly planted in the world of K-12 education.

Starting Black Girl Musings is the first time my complete pictures, big visions, and audacious goals don’t center around education.

And that’s scary because for better or for worse, so much of who I am is wrapped up in what I do. And I think that’s especially true for people who work in fields that are people-centered. No one blinks an eye at someone who chooses to walk away from a career in IT or account management. But the same people who tell me they could never do what I do would be the same ones to ask, “But what about the children?!”

We liken people facing jobs to “families” and so when we leave them, it feels more personal.
But lest we forget, I can be fired at any moment from my job…but Cheryl…Cheryl is always going to be my mama.
Ain’t no firing happenin’ in that relationship.

So in every new position I enter into, I carry this belief:
“Do your very best every single day for as long as you work someplace, and when it’s time to go, leave.”

I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up–but I know how I want to feel.

I want to feel free to work the hours that work best for my life.
I want to feel accomplished because I’ve successfully completed a project that means something to me.
I want to feel excited and afraid about a new endeavor that I have no idea how to wrap my mind around.
I want to feel like I am further expanding space for incredible black to be their most free and authentic selves.

And I believe deeply in my heart of hearts that Black Girl Musings lives at the center of all of that.
BGM is currently a passion project that I hope one day turns into a side hustle and eventually a full time job.
One where I can bring people together around a common vision. Where I have freedom and flexibility to work wherever and however I’d like so long as I can complete projects that uplift and inspire black women while serving as an outlet for their fears, dreams, and frustrations.

One day…
But today aint that day.

That’s not where you thought I was going, huh?
You thought this was about the be my big announcement that I was about to quit my job and go find my way in the world of full time blogging.

Nah, sis.
I still have student loans, car payments, and (hopefully) one day a mortgage.

I have goals that rely on a healthy stable salary.

So I’m grateful for both a 9-5 (more like a 7-5…or sometimes 6) I enjoy and a creative outlet that allows for me to reach you all.

And while I still feel stiffled and sometimes frustrated by that reality, I can always hear God lovingly reminding me,

Daughter, there is so much to learn in the ‘in-between’

Trust. Me.

As someone whose pain point is patience, I’m pretty sure there is no one for whom the ‘in-between’ sucks more than me.

No one.

And God, who is so dope and loving and kind and patient (’cause boy does it surely take a lot of that to deal with me) reminds me again of these three reasons why the ‘in-between’ is so crucial to our ‘We made it!’ and I want to share that with you all.

There’s a life worth living in the ‘in-between’.

I often say stuff like, “I can’t wait until I achieve this milestone, because then I can really start living my life.” or “______ is really what I need to get to the next level.”

And ambition is bomb and super important…but if all you focus on are the milestones, you’ll never appreciate the moments that truly make life worth living. What about living room dance parties? Dinners where you and your friends finish all the wine and talk about all the things? The times when you watch the sun rise. Or meet a new friend on a solo trip.

Those. Things. Matter.
And all of them happen in the ‘in-between.

 

The ‘in-between’ builds character.

You never want your ambition to take you to a place where your character can’t sustain you.

You want to work in an industry where you word is everything, but you lie all the time.

You want to work alongside the people you most admire, but your heart is filled with jealousy whenever someone makes a move into the direction of their dreams and you don’t.

You want to work someplace where self-control matters, but you almost get into a car accident when you see the Krispy Kreme light comes (man, I’m talking to myself right now if no one else.)

You can crush the very thing you prayed for because your character wasn’t a sound enough foundation for it to rest. The ‘in-between’ builds character.

All of the things you currently hate about your ‘in-between’ are likely the refining tools you need to get to the place you truly long to be.

The ‘in-between’ builds habits.

So now you’re all like, “yeah, yeah, Nik BUT my character is on point, girl!” –You better go’head, friend!
There are certain habits that will be required of you to sustain your vision.

You want to work a job where you get to manage your own time…but your time management is booboo (In my Kendrick Lamar voice).

You want to work in a field that involves a ton of interaction with people…but you couldn’t be on time if someone paid you (and they do at your job and you still late, sis. You know it’s true, don’t be mad).

I am so grateful for the ‘in-between’ of my life right now as I’ve always allowed a school bell to dictate how I manage my time. This season is forcing me out of that space and into one where using minutes as responsibly as I do money.

It sounds foolish, but I know if I don’t master this now, I’ll never be in the place where I can do work anywhere that has wifi. My habits–or lack thereof–will keep me from realizing my dreams.

 

Now, I am not a proponent for living in the ‘in-between’.
You aren’t supposed to turn a season into a lifetime.
You have to know when it’s time to leave that place (or person), move to that city, take that new job or make an even more radical change.

But as you work to do that remember to stop and thank God for the moments that are building you into someone who can carry the burdens of your blessings.

There’s magic in our musings,
Nicole