Trying to figure out what’s right for me

The past few days, I’ve been mulling over moving to Edmonton … and you guys are all right. Why shouldn’t I move? The job market is showing me no love here, and while Alberta is certainly getting very expensive, it’s still cheaper than living here or in Vancouver. Plus, I’m young and single … and I was going to move away from here eventually, I just didn’t think it was going to be that soon.

Plus, it’s not like I have to live in Edmonton forever. I’d come back sooner or later. A friend told me that staying in this city is “career suicide,” because unless you are established enough to have connections, chances are your growth will be stunted before it can really even develop.

It’s not even really my friends and family that have me concerned. I’ve lived away from them before, and yes I missed them all dearly, but it’s not like I’ll never see them again. I’m concerned about stupid things, like the cold wreaking havoc on my skin. Having to find an apartment. Not having a car. I’m concerned about the fact that I will have to give up hockey because they don’t have a league there.

I’m most concerned about not working at the PT job anymore. Sure, it’s just a PT job, but it’s truly my passion. I live for this job. I’m the only person to have ever had it, and it’s the only job like it in the city, and really on the entire island. I feel like it’s mine, and I should protect it, because I might never get a chance to have that opportunity again. And that’s my career goal … to work in this industry. It’s what makes me happy. Do I leave it behind, and hope that by gaining experience in a completely different industry, I can return to it down the road? It’s hard to get into this industry (ridiculously hard), and I was the lucky one to get this opportunity with a new organization (thanks to some networking and general good timing) … but now that I have my foot in the door, do I take it out and hope someone will be nice enough to open it again for me? Or is this my one and only chance?

I know that if the job is offered to me and it fits all my requirements, I should take this opportunity and run with it. I just have to get over all the things that are holding me back, and convince myself that it’s the right thing to do. Because it is. I think. Maybe.