Why I left America to Start My Career

3 minute read. My grandmother always told me to do what I loved. As long as I had known her, she had been blind and hard of hearing. That didn’t stop her though. She had values, and she stuck with them. A stubborn investor, she held onto IBM stock until the day she passed away. We had a tradition when I would be back home. I would bring In N Out burger over to her house and we would reconnect. Conversations revolved around careers, life, and love. Her favorite story is of how her and her first husband went steady. As he walked her to the door, he said, “Promise me something. I want to see you again. Will you promise to go out with me?” Exposing himself to rejection, he put out the very words he was feeling. While the story was intended to just be about love, I saw how truth and humility equally contribute to our higher Self. While I managed to graduate college, it felt like a slog by the end. Academics and the rigorous process of finding a job after graduation left me broken. The previous summer internship at an accounting firm confirmed the realization that this was not what I wanted to do. I began searching for alternatives to the corporate graduate schemes. All I could think about was my immense dream to do something completely different. Instead of building a resume, I chose to build my character through experience. Escape to Chile The opportunity was presented to live abroad on Escape the City’s Top 10 Opportunities. After getting the job offer, I jumped to South America. Working in a startup environment exposed me to all facets of the business, and pretty soon I was promoted to managing a sales team at the age of 23. The responsibility of ensuring that the business hit its sales targets didn’t burden me only until reflecting after. It was simply a matter of adapting and enduring the shift of work. A traveler’s mindset So why does my innate desire beg me to explore and wander? Part of it is in the pruning process, molding myself into the man I aspire to be — husband, father, friend, son, colleague, entrepreneur and person. It sheds all preconceived notions that identity is something I cannot build. It has taught me humility, like sleeping on the floor when there is no bed or accepting my place in a very different culture and language.The other part is seeking understanding of other people. It is intuitive to think my perspective is always right, or better, than the rest of the world’s. After all, if I have gotten this far playing by these rules then I must be doing it right…Right? Seeing how happy people are with practically nothing has made me see the world differently. One day in the midst of a lull, I was sitting with a friend, and he proclaimed, “Sometimes, it’s times like these when we just need to remember to sit back and relax.” Projecting previous failures into the future will not get me anywhere. Taking each day on with a voracious appetite that can only be sated with strong relationships, a desire to acquire knowledge, and a fanatic devotion to the well-being of mind and body. While seeking answers to the questions I set out for, I find myself asking more questions. I have lost a sense of defining things in black and white. The world has become a colorful place, with stories and language being the tools of choice. As the years passed, Grandma became a bit more frail and things became a bit more halted. I won’t forget her words of insight as I progressed through college into a world with no restrictions, limits, or borders. Initially this was supposed to be about professional benefits of working and living abroad. However, to put everything about this experience into one compartment deflates the true essence. The personal struggles combined with professional experiences abroad has shaped me into a more emotionally aware, adaptive, and empathetic human being. Achievement, recognition, or degree only serve a short-term boost for the ego. Truth, love, and humility provide a foundation for life. Thanks for reading!