Yup, I took a risk and took a chance on me.

I walked out of my office with a small box in tow and never looked back. I didn’t turn in a two weeks’ notice resignation letter, there was no going away party with cake and no final words from my coworkers.

I just walked out and said goodbye, never to look back again.

I didn’t know what the world had in store for me but I was eager to find out. I’d come to the point with that particular job where I was done, I had reached the ceiling (literally) and there was nowhere to go but out the door.

I had no job lined up, no interviews to attend the next day and no idea what I would do next. I was taking a huge risk, a bold move that could have any number of consequences. But there are two things I did know for sure: 1) I needed to make that move and 2) I would be ok in the end. And guess what, I was.

The following month was amazing. It was December and it felt like I was on a vacation; I celebrated my birthday, I traveled, I had a great Christmas and New Year and then, what seems like it was out of the blue, I was contracted for a major TV hosting gig. Then it hit me, “Freelance. Just work for yourself and do freelance media work. This is what you do.” And so for the past year, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing; working for myself as a freelance media specialist; writing, hosting, voicing commercials and PSAs, developing my blog, making my name known internationally through my writing etc.

Who would ever think that the year right after you quit your job you’d travel to three different countries you’ve never been to before (Spain, Canada and Puerto Rico), make a pay cheque every month that oftentimes rivalled your monthly salary on your previous job, spend more time with family and friends and be incredibly happy and fulfilled? I sure didn’t and that’s because initially I was afraid.

After I shook that fear, I couldn’t be stopped.

This newfound ability to explore aspects of my career that I once ignored because I was bogged down with other people’s schedules, needs, wants and demands, exhilarated my thoughts and spurred creative ideas like never before.

I was free.

Free to tend to my needs, my demands, my wants. Free to set my own schedules and be my own boss. I was now free to do what my bosses have done: stopped building someone else’s dreams and build my own. I was free to build my brand, build a name for myself and free to show someone who just might need it, that the fear of taking risks only cripples getting the reward. So here I am exactly one year later; still alive, still breathing, still eating, still travelling (even more so), still making money and still being me. It’s amazing the things you can do once you stop being afraid.

Here I am, exactly one year later, free to explore myself.