The Only Thing Scarier Than Change Is Staying The Same

Change is fucking scary.

No, not changing your go-to coffee order or moving apartment units to a different borough of the same city. I’m talking about real change. The stuff that makes us uncomfortable. The type of change that tests your grit to find out what you’re truly capable of.

For me, this change manifested via months of impending career burnout. I graduated with a degree in marketing (yes, I do contemplate if it was worth the debt every single day) and have been in the field for two-plus years post-grad. What I’ve learned is that I’ve been overworked, underpaid, and hella overwhelmed by corporate America.

Don’t get me wrong—I am grateful for being employed in the field I (usually) enjoy, but after job-hopping a few times, I realized the problem really isn’t me. I’m a go-getter by nature, but also kind-hearted. What I failed to realize is that in the corporate world, kindness is taken advantage of nine times out of 10.

What’s worse? I hate conflict and will go to great lengths to avoid it. Sometimes at the cost of my sanity, healthy work boundaries, and advocating for myself.

The good news: I found a marketing niche that I do love, and I continue to freelance in the field because of it.

The bad news: I’m breaking up with corporate America (for now, at least).

After many insufferable nights of being fed up and crying because of horrible emails and Zoom calls, I decided enough was enough. I asked myself, “Becca, what is it that you actually enjoy doing, and how can you make a career doing it?”

And the one constant I remember really missing over the course of those two years was how much I loved traveling. I missed traveling so fucking much. I missed the excitement of exploring somewhere new, experiencing new cultures, and being left to my own devices just because I’m on me-time and don’t have some deadline to meet or work chat to answer.

So, as the 20-something-year-old that I am, I put in my notice and said goodbye to all of the comfy securities that come with an office job and said, “Fuck it. I’m going to become a flight attendant.”

And I can now say that the corporate world, as toxic as it can be, was also a weird comfort to me. Maybe because it’s the only type of workplace I’ve ever really known. Maybe because of the stability it created.

Regardless, the opportunity to enter the wild world of aviation came my way, and it has truly changed my life.

I did 32 days of intense training away from family and friends, and in exactly two days I’m moving across the country to start working at my new domicile. I’m terrified, excited, nervous, and scared.

But deep down, past all my anxiety about this uncharted path that I’m on, I’m really freaking proud of myself. I did something no one else I know has done. I think being able to hop on a plane one day and subject myself to a new environment with completely different rules and force myself to succeed because the alternative was walking away empty-handed was a true testament to my strength.

My point is, if you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way to achieve it. Change is terrifying. Not knowing if I was going to make it through training and possibly have to tell my family I failed kept me up more nights than I care to recall.

But want to know what’s more terrifying? Staying the same. Complacent. Stagnant. Accepting you’re doing something you don’t love or even like just for the notion of stability. No plans to evolve or grow. That terrifies me even more.

So yes, change is really fucking scary, but in the end, it’s worth the journey. I’d rather push myself to try something that makes me uncomfortable than live in regret of never having tried at all.