My Year “Unplugged” & Going Forward

Let me begin by saying that this particular post is more of a long-form story than my usual four paragraphs and a quote. But I’ve been away for a year and thought it would be a good idea to update everyone on what has been going on. It’s been a truly transformative year, and I am excited to share what has transpired in my life.

It feels like only yesterday that I was contemplating taking a year-long sabbatical from social media. Even I was skeptical about whether or not I would be able to last a few days, much less 12 months. As I look back over my original goals and aims for the year, I can’t help but laugh at how some of those goals (as with most New Year’s resolutions) fell quickly by the wayside. Yet, I ended up achieving goals I hadn’t even set for myself. And, overall, I can confidently say that my year “unplugged” was a positive one.

I put “unplugged” in quotations because I came to understand that it is very nearly impossible to spend extended periods of time truly unplugged in our society. Even from a purely business standpoint, social media has become an integral part of daily life. Eventually, around August this year, I began using my professional Twitter account again (yes, I have two) because I knew it would be a helpful tool for my job. I knew this was technically a violation of my commitment for the year, but I made the rules, so I didn’t feel particularly bad breaking them.

I started the year living on a strict life schedule to help me with discipline. Not surprisingly, this practice fell by the wayside barely a month into the year. I have never been one for rigidity, but I have always been good about sticking to schedules. I thought, perhaps, the daily schedule plan would help me be more disciplined in my life. And it did, for a few weeks. In fact, I was incredibly productive during that time. But the free spirit in me couldn’t handle it for long.

And so I went along for five months, no social media, no cable, futile attempts at keeping a life schedule. I had all but quit trying to live a healthier lifestyle, though I made a few vague shots at it throughout the spring. Then at the end of May, I received a life-changing offer from someone I had come to regard as a friend over the previous year. When I sat down to dinner with Peter Martino in Long Beach, California, at the World Tea Expo, I was expecting to talk shop and catch up on our lives. Peter had other plans.

As dessert arrived, he dropped a bomb: an invitation to join the Capital Teas team in Annapolis, Maryland, as Wholesale Director. It was an offer I did not expect to receive. And it was one I was not prepared to even think about. While I had begun to wonder what was next for my professional career, I did not expect to leave my current job or even Birmingham any time soon. And I told him so. But Peter doesn’t really listen when you tell him “no”. We spoke some more over the coming weeks, and days after my 26^th birthday, I accepted the position.

On August 15^th, I moved to Washington, DC, to begin a new chapter of my story. Life-changing doesn’t even begin to describe this transition. And while my rent tripled and my square footage was cut in half, it was amazing to be in a new city. Even more exciting was jumping into the fray of a company on the move. Capital Teas more than doubled its retail footprint in second half of 2014 and will do so again in 2015. And while I started my first day of work with a to-do list that already had a dozen overdue items, the energy was palpable. Not only was I back in the tea industry (a true passion of mine), but I was a valued member of a team where my experience and insight was not only welcomed but sought after.

As the months passed, it became apparent that my experience on the retail side of the tea industry was an asset that the company wanted to leverage. What began as a few training sessions for new store staffs became a two month engagement helping one of our new stores get up off the ground. And while I was working sixty hours a week at one point (doing both my wholesale work and store directing), I can honestly say that the experience was one of the most rewarding of my life so far.

I don’t want to sugarcoat and act like everything has been perfect because it definitely has not been. Due to the long hours of the last few months, my social life has been stagnant. I’ve barely seen my home in daylight, and I’ve put exponential mileage on my car. But even on my most stressful days, I feel like I am a part of something incredible. And if I learned nothing else in my year removed from the distractions of social media, it is this: hard work really does pay off.

When I moved to DC, I wanted to make a new start. I knew I had the opportunity to get back on track with my goals for the year, and so I joined a Weight Watchers meeting my second week in town. And I have actually stuck with the program this time, losing 30 pounds since the beginning of September. While I still have a long way to go toward achieving the health goals I have set for myself, I have not, in recent memory, remained dedicated to my own health journey for such a long period, and I am excited about continuing on this path.

I have also had the amazing honor to meet and get to know Rev. Allyson Robinson along with the Calvary Baptist Church family. Nothing can replace Baptist Church of the Covenant for me, but Calvary is trying really hard. I am thankful to have found a home among a wonderful group of progressive Baptists in DC. I was worried I would have trouble connecting with a new congregation (because BCOC is a hard act to follow), but they welcomed me with open arms and open hearts.

So what’s next? Clearly, I have already reactivated my Facebook (as that is where many of you are reading this). My personal Twitter account is back up and running. I’ve already posted to Instagram. So what was the point of this exercise? Well I have learned that I can live without the distractions of social media. I have learned that my life is a lot happier without the drama of Facebook, but I also hate sacrificing the ability to be in touch with friends across the world which Facebook provides. I missed out on engagements, pregnancies, big moves, and even deaths. I basically missed everyone’s birthday this year. So going forward it’s about balancing the good and ugly. I am working now to limit my own functionality on Facebook which includes not downloading the app on my phone and not checking it innumerous times per day.

I have learned a lot about myself this year, and I am looking forward to applying those things going forward. This is an exciting time in my life, and I plan to live it to the fullest.