What I’ve Learned From The Less Traditional Path by Stephany Daal
From living and working with children in a Brazilian favela, to working at an international school in Cairo, to now a Senior Account Executive at a global PR firm, my life and career path have been anything but traditional or vertical.
Growing up I wanted to become a diplomat and for the longest time I was well on my way to become just that. However, during my European Studies Bachelor back in my early twenties I suddenly realized how unhappy I was and how I was dreading to soon take this conventional, vertical career path society deemed normal. There had to be more than this, I thought. After a backpacking trip through Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia where I was surrounded by people who had followed their guts, I decided to quit my studies and explore the world instead. Friends and family thought I was crazy, but I was determined to explore first, gain more world experience and put my studies and career on hold. I didn't feel ready and had to leave the rat race, the system, for a bit. I country hopped for the next few years while taking on different volunteer and job opportunities in order to expand my knowledge on various industries. Four years after quitting my studies, I decided to pursue a Bachelor through a Dutch distance learning university. This way I could continue country hop while also grow academically.
Picture from my time in Costa Rica
I talk so easy about it now, but I often doubted myself. Was I doing the right thing? Would I be seen as a good candidate once I was ready to pursue a career? Would I be seen as ambitious (which I obviously was) or would I be judged negatively? However, now in my thirties I look back at a fully lived youth, ready to focus on growing professionally and building a career in Communications and PR.
Here are four things I've learned these past few years:
1. Anything is possible
There are endless possibilities in this world. Endless. And if there isn't a possibility, I create it as I refuse to take 'no' for an answer or take a step back. Acquire the growth mindset, learn that there are no limits in what we can achieve as humans.
2. There is no timeline
If only I had realized this sooner! All the anxiety about having to pursue a degree immediately after high school, the pressure of needing to be a graduate by the time I was in my twenties and having to work my way up the ladder... but there never was a timeline, as it's a social construct. We can live our lives however we want to live, on our own terms, with our own dreams.
3. Always, always, always follow your dreams
A cliché for a reason. How many of us wake up, do the same thing every day, but dream of doing something else. Do it! Be it taking salsa classes, skydiving, traveling to some far away place, starting that business or switching careers. These last few years (and still!) I've done just this, following my dreams, and it has led me to some amazing experiences and opportunities. Life is too short to wait for things to happen, we need to make it happen for us.
4. There is so much more to everything
The world is multiperspective. There are so many sides to a story, so many truths and realities. Humanity is diverse and doing incredible things, in different countries. Learn these stories and these various perspectives, look beyond your own country and culture.
I’m now back in Amsterdam (for now). Besides my full-time job I'm pursuing a Master in International Management, writing for an online magazine that focuses on MENA region and learning Arabic. My goal in life hasn’t changed: to live a fully lived life, free from regrets and 'what ifs'.
Picture from my time in Panama
