A Year Away from the Kitchen

A year of being a full time Steemian. A year of doing things I like, instead of doing what I have to do. A year of swimming instead of floating with the current. A year of living, and not just surviving. The year of ME.

It was Thursday before Christmas when I left from the professional kitchen to have my Christmas holiday. I was exhausted and my hands were done with the cooking job. I went to the doctor and for the first time in my life, I was given a sick leave, three weeks. I went back in to my workplace and my boss’ office to hand in the paper and say that my Christmas holiday just got extended.

I was relieved to have some extra time off work and to be spending a longer holiday with my family. At this point, I wasn’t yet 100 percent sure that I wouldn’t go back, but I viewed my sick leave as a trial period for being a full time blogger. I had been on Steemit for half a year, attended Steemfest in Lisbon and my little crypto portfolio was growing every day and the all time highs were near.

I knew that it wouldn’t be like this all the time, the bubble would burst, but could I survive it? I started to build myself a good foundation and cushion to land on if I decided to quit my job. I payed my bills, I payed my rent in advance, I stocked up on household items, slowly getting ready for something I had dreamt of for a long time.

Christmas came and went, I was happy being at home with my family, relaxing, healing but stirring inside. The closer the end date of my sick leave got, the more anxious I got. I was doing really well on Steemit, and financially I knew I would be well off for months at least. But was it a smart move? What if crypto dies? What if nobody likes me in Steemit anymore. Why if what if what if...

By the end of my sick leave, early January 2018, I had a check up with my doctor to see if I can go back to work. She saw my hands and immediately wrote another three weeks and said I need to change careers. I said I would, thanked her and left. That was the final push the universe gave my to take the leap. I went to meet my boss and gave him the bad news of extending my sick leave, and at the same time, I handed in my notice. I’m done, I wouldn’t be coming back.

That was it, I was free. The feeling was ecstatic and surreal. I hopped away smiling, breathing easier. After I would get my final pay, I would be on my own, living on crypto. Scary, exhilarating, amazing, uncertain, but boy was I excited. I had a new life.

It took me long time to settle into the realisation that this was it, I didn’t have to wake up to an alarm at 4.30am, or any time for that matter. I didn’t have to work on hours I didn’t want to, I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to. I could live my hedonistic ways, but I also knew that I would have to be strict with myself in order to survive. I started posting more because I now had the time, and it was my job also, my only means of making money. Gotta hustle.

I started to sleep at night and eat healthier. I invested in new camera gear and really got serious about taking better pictures. I took time to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. A shoot in the middle of the night when inspiration struct, or waking up without an alarm and starting a productive day with coffee and answering comments.

Slowly I realised that I can actually do this for real and the dread of going back to the kitchen disappeared. While cryptos have plummeted all through the year, I’m still here, doing what I love.

With my new found freedom and money from the all time highs of crypto, I started to travel. During this year I have been to Thailand, Hungary, Estonia, Sweden, England and Poland. And just last night I came home from spending almost three weeks in Mexico. I spend the summer enjoying weather wise the best summer in Finland since forever, and the best summer for me because I didn’t have to be in the kitchen.

I don’t have a solid routine, and sometimes I slip to the dark side of hedonism, but I always come back. I don’t have the answers to life, I’m not always happy, I’m not financially free, but I am so much better than in my previous life.

The markets are showing some green finally and I hope they will recover so that the next year will not force me back to the kitchen and back to the life I hated.

Today I’m heading back to the countryside to spend time with my family over Christmas. But you can rest assured, you’ll find me on the blockchain too. Thank you for the past year, and cheers to the next one, I hope it’s even better than this one was!