Why My Ambitious Journalism Career Needs Less Ambition

My job woes have been well-documented, and sometimes the transparency has led to awkward confrontations, like that one time I wrote about how being the garbage disposal of content for a well-known brand, had driven me to the brink of insanity, which was thankfully curbed when the potentially permanent gig became abruptly temporary after the summer of hell.

Almost two years later, and I’m actually doing way worse than when I was dropped like a steaming hot potato, but “blessedly” recovered when the Medium Partner Program swiftly recruited me.

The only constant in this maddening trajectory to nowhere, is the vivid imagery of how I fucked it all up back in the spring of 2013, when I had two incredible job offers, and painfully made the wrong decision.

But what’s even more tragic, is the naivety that gripped my determination to make writing a full time existence.

I had spent the last five years juggling a corporate shift, while earning extra dough as a freelancer for various online pubs. The ability to garner a steady paycheck doing what I hated, while earning a decent amount of money fulfilling the dream of creative pursuits was quite exhilarating.

Managing a balanced lifestyle in the city of New York is no small feat, and since there seemed to be a…