After leaving uni in the early 2000s I worked in the media though out my 20s it was a career I choose for various reasons none of them very good ones. I think the main one was that it was how I wanted to be seen, I liked how it felt when I told people my job ands they were impressed. Looking back I can't believe how hard I worked and burnt myself out in a job that paid well but did nothing to deliver on any other level and encroached so much into my personal life I struggled to maintain any personal relationship which isn't uncommon in my previous line of work, especially for women I can't think of any who were happily coupled up during my time in the industry.
When I was first entering the industry more than once an older woman took my aside and said that I should get out and if there was anything else I wanted to do I should do that instead because nobody was happy in the business. I didn't believe them but in time I saw that they did have a point. I am sure some people thrive on it but I see even those that do give up a lot to keep going in a feild that doesn't acknowledge the need for personal time. In the end I did just give up at about 30 because I wanted more for myself by then than a cool job and good money.
I'm glad I got out when I did but I wish as a student and a younger person I had thought more holistically about the sort of life I wanted for myself and had taken in to account who I am as an individual yes I had the aptitude for the work I did in the media but I'm also an introvert who is hypersensitive to stimuli (both a strength and a weakness) if I had understood that about myself I might have seen that working long hours for weeks on end with little time off would not be enjoyable or good for me. I might have seen that while the job sounded cool it wasn't a substitue for a life, for my own creativity and for real relationships.
I regret not putting the energy and passion of my 20's into the work I do now but it is what it is and I do my best at least I have a life now and time for my relationships which I didn't before. Sometimes I still feel bad when I meet people from my old life and I feel like a failure in their eyes but who cares they don't really have time to see me anyway. Other people I know some family members think I am crazy for giving up such a great job.
I'm sure this doesn't just apply to my old line of work but to many, the sort of jobs we all crave when we are young and want to define and prove ourselves but they can become traps?
Aibu to think this?