Shivani Karia recently embarked on her own grey journey and she’s sharing each step with the LITG community. This week Shivani shares what life is like two months after taking a LEAP into her grey. 

Well. I’ve arrived. In the Big Apple, that is. And boy what an arrival it was. I was welcomed to the East Coast and all of the hustle and bustle with bitter cold and icy, icy temperatures. Essentially, Mother Nature chose to welcome me with the Polar Vortex. Thanks Mother Nature. Love you, too.

Despite the cold and all the snow I’ve dealt with here in just two months, I couldn’t have asked for a better move or a better start to a new, grey journey.  In just a few days, I will complete two months at this new job. TWO months.

Let’s take a quick second to process that because it really does feel like just yesterday that I told my old boss that I would be leaving the company when in reality, it was almost 5 months ago.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed my job before. I had a great time going to work, hanging out with my coworkers, chatting and strategizing with my clients. I enjoyed it and let’s face it, lived quite a cushy life. What I’ve learned since being in NYC and working at this ad agency is that I was actually pretty lazy. I take that back, I was really lazy. I had an “easy” job with excellent hours that paid well but I wasn’t being pushed to think creatively, to expand my skillset in a way that was best for me and my personal growth. And if you’re not being pushed to do more, to step out of your comfort zone and reach new heights, what can you really gain from the experience? The answer, I learned, is not much at all.

Here in NYC, I work more. I work longer hours, I work from home after I’ve left the office and at times, I even work on the weekends (did you see the photo of me working with THREE laptops?!) I’m definitely not making as much as I’d like to be for the bare minimum standards of what living in this crazy city takes but here’s the thing: I LOVE what I’m doing.

The work I’m doing and the people I’m working with are truly some of the best in the industry and I couldn’t be more excited to come into work everyday, ready to jump in where I’m needed, with whatever work needs to be done for our next campaign. I want to soak up as much information as I can, I want to learn everything I can, I literally want to just do everything. In fact, I don’t even mind staying until 6:30 or 7 at night working away on my laptop; in fact, I enjoy it!

Everyday I leave the office thinking, “THIS is what I hoped to gain when I took the big step out of the black and white. THIS is why I left my cushy job.” So that I could gain these experiences that forced me to think outside of the box, forced me to think more creatively, more intelligently and ultimately helped me grow both professionally and personally.

Two months ago, I made the biggest change of my life.  Two months later, I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come. This is why you take those steps towards living in the grey. It’s scary. Trust me, it really is but the results are beyond incredible and so freaking worth it. (Excuse the lack of professionalism there).

If you’re hesitating to take that one step towards the grey, take it from someone who was in your shoes just a short time ago. Do it. Do it now. You have nothing to lose but SO MUCH to gain. Why wait? Take that step into the grey. I promise you won’t regret it.

Check out Shivani’s previous posts here and here.