It's official. I'm no longer suckling off of the government teat. I got a job! Not just any job, mind you. I'm going back into radio ad sales, where my heart and passion lies.
I have always been a music junky and have always wanted to work in radio or around music. In fact, I went to the Columbia School of Broadcasting back in the early 90's because I thought that's what every DJ did ... I was naive. :)
The $3k I spent on my schooling wasn't a complete waste. I learned how to enunciate and how to properly pronounce "Moscow." (It's MOS CO, not MOS COW.) Now you know.
Fast forward to October, 2001, when my journey into radio began. Imagine: Spiffy is sitting at her desk, working as an insurance agent for AAA. It's early in the morning and Spiffy is simply miffed. She hates her job and wants something more. She's listening to her favorite radio station at the time - E105. The Joe Show (morning show at the time) was giving away a trip to New York City to promote tourism after 9-11. Spiffy enters the contest by sending an e-mail to the DJ. She tells the DJ how she's always been a big fan of Hair Metal music, yadda yadda, wit and charm, and that she'd love to win the trip.
Later that afternoon, Spiffy gets a call from Joe who told her that he LOVED her e-mail, thought she was super funny and offered her a free trip for two to New York City for a week! Spiffy jumped on the chance and took a trip that literally changed her life.
I'll go back into first person now. Third person is so pretentious. :) While on this trip, I met so many people who would impact my life. I met my ex-husband, who was the promotions guy for the station. I met my good friend, Elaine, who helped talk me into going back to radio. I met my former boss, friend and now co-worker, Janel, who also helped talk me into going back to radio. The list goes on. This trip was pivotal for me and led me to my first venture into radio sales with E105/Jack FM.
I spent 3 1/2 years working in a field that I loved, but somewhere along the way I let the grind get the best of me and I lost my spark. I was a much different person back then and, quite honestly, I didn't have as much confidence in myself as I do today. Radio sales is a tough business. If it were easy, everyone would do it because it is fun and can be very profitable.
I've been struggling for the past 5 months, wondering why no one felt I was the right fit for their company and the position. I now believe that I received all of those rejections because the universe was pushing me to return to radio. It took me a minute to receive the message, but it finally sunk in and now I feel at peace.
I know that it's going to be rough and that there will be some days that I'll just want to say fuck it and walk away, but I won't. While being unemployed for five months sucked, it taught me a huge lesson about myself: I'm stronger than I thought, I'm more resilient than I could ever imagine and the haters will continue to hate, I just have to continue to be better than them. I am in charge of my own destiny and the negative words and thoughts of others are their burden to bear, not mine.
These past few months I've received support from people who I'd never imagine would care, but they did. I'll do my best to repay them all in one way or another and I'll continue to pay it forward. I've always known, but believe even more now that positive actions bring about positive consequences.
So, I'll spend my last week of "vacation" relaxing, visiting with my friends and family and learning how to wake up before 7:30 am again. Come July 1st, watch out because this girl is ON FIRE! :)
