From Burn-Out to Bookstore Owner
I have been a reader my entire life! You can ask any one of my school friends, there wasn't a time when I didn’t have a book with me. From Harry Potter to the Hunger Games, Twilight, and so so so many more, I always had my nose in a book and my head in a story. Unfortunately, as I grew up, life got in the way. I found that I wasn't making time for that love and for a decade that light that was so strong in my life had dimmed.
Everything changed in 2020, when the world shut down due to COVID-19. I, like the rest of the world, I suddenly had a lot more free time on my hands. It was during this time that I fell in love with reading all over again with the help of TikTok, of all things. Scrolling through #Booktok I found people who loved reading as much as I used to. So when I kept seeing this "A Court of Thorns and Roses" being recommended, I decided to the bookstore I would go!
Not only did I find my passion for stories again, but I met some of the most amazing people who have changed my life in ways that I could never have imagined! It started with a random livestream of a booktoker that I loved, who is now my friend, Shlee. She made an online book club with people from all over the world. While the book club only survived for a couple months before schedules conflicted. However, it was long enough for me to become friends with two lovely woman from Kansas City, USA. Laramie and Kelsey, (I know you're reading this) changed my life in ways I don't think I can even describe and I love you to the moon and back!
Jumping to 2022 I was diagnosed with depression, working at a job that was draining the life out of me and going no where. I was medicated and then I quit my job - leaving customer service to clean an office building.
With my new job came PTO and the ability to take a vacation (wild, I know). So I decided that I was going to fly solo to Kansas City to meet the people on the other side of my phone screen. So in January of 2024 I was on a plane, in another country, flying to meet, in person, people I met on the internet...
Intro to Shlee, Laramie, Kelsey, and Derek! It just so happened that the week I was able to fly in lined up with the release of the newest Crescent City book, The House of Flame and Shadow, by Sarah J Maas. SJM's books were the ones that we all fell in love with and the entire reason that we all became friends so it felt like fate that we were all able to be in the same place at the same time!
That week was so much fun, reading parties, sleepovers, and just talking about books that we loved and resonated so much with. We didn't feel like strangers, we were friends that would last a lifetime!
Coming home, I was sad to be leaving my friends, but something in me had changed. I had done something that scared me and it was amazing! After some long conversations with friends and family I decided to apply to NBCC's Business Fundamentals program.
One month later I was accepted to the program and the fact that I was going back to school after being out of school for 13 years hit me like a wall! I was terrified I was going to flunk out or not be able to keep up with the work. Thankfully I have an amazing support system who was there beside me every step of the way!
My teachers were amazing, my classmates were incredible and so much fun, and by the time June came I was sad that the year was over! I learned so much about, not only business, but myself as a person. I grew so much over the school year and on graduation day I walked across that stage with my Kansas friends watching the livestream and my friends and family cheering me on in the crowd!
After graduation came the real work though... I got a part time job, finessed my business plan, and got to work on finding someone who would give me money to make my dream a reality!
I am a firm believer in "everything happens when it's meant to happen" and this entire process has only made me believe that even more. Everything over the last 2 and a half years has been leading me to this new door that is about to open for me. I couldn't be more excited for this next chapter (pun intended lol)