I’ve taken on a new hobby of photography, starting in my hometown, Manassas City, and it has been the most rewarding interest I have started. After I finished uploading all of my pictures to my computer, I entered the next part of the craft: editing them myself. That process was intimidating, difficult, and eventually fun. The fun came after I was staring at the finished product. I was so proud of myself because I started and finished without procrastination, overthinking, or getting lost in the planning process. 

This new hobby that I have taken did not originate from having a passion for photography and finally wanting to pursue the dream. It’s almost quite the opposite. Although now I am a school bus driver (on summer break), I have been looking for a new job to transition into before the new school year arrives. I kept facing rejection after rejection until I received a response from a well-known real estate company in the northern Virginia area. The position is not exactly what I was doing before becoming a bus driver; however, it was close enough. 

To understand why photography became so important, I have to go back a few years. Working as a listing coordinator for Redfin Real Estate was my first “big girl” job. It is the career where I gained most of my experience. I was a listing coordinator for some top-producing agents in the area, and while it was challenging over the 5-year time that I was here, it was much needed on my journey. Unfortunately, I was laid off 1 month before my 5th anniversary, and I wrote about it on the blog. If you want to read more, check it out HERE. 

That same year that I was laid off, I became a bus driver, and 3 years later, I thought I was trying to make a return to my origins. This real estate company that reached out to me had a position open to become a real estate agent. At first, I was nervous and immediately counted myself out, but after some long-term thinking, I convinced myself that I could do it, because that is my expertise. I worked under agents closing millions of dollars of listings a year; surely I could do the same?

The Interview That Changed Everything

The interview was scheduled, and I was excited. When looking back now, I realized the excitement came from finally getting a response after so many emails that started with “Thank you for applying for the….” My mind immediately went into overdrive to figure out how I could be the best realtor in the area and make sure I’m contributing to a well-known team. I know that I have my corporate skillset, my creative skills, and a drive to make sure I don’t return as a bus driver this upcoming school year. 

I had about a week until my interview because I was still driving the school bus, so during those long drives, I had the idea of creating a social media presence online that would help me funnel leads as an agent, while also providing valuable information to buyers, renters, sellers, or just anyone interested in the metropolitan area. So I bought the domain, wrote out a rough draft full of ideas, put together a rough plan, and then started to use my free time to prep. The goal was to have something to show during my interview, so they could see I was ready to take this seriously. 

The interview came; I signed on Google Meet and waited, going over my script in my head for 10 minutes. As I approached the 15-minute mark, I realized that no one was getting on this call. Right before I signed off, I emailed all my contacts with no response from anyone.  The next day, I received a response from the original contact asking if anyone ever got on the call. I received another follow-up message that offered me to join a group call later on that day. And I will be honest, I never responded because I realized that this was, yet again. After all, I didn’t feel as though they were worth any more of my energy or time. 

I want to clarify that I did not take the missed interview as a personal jab; however, I am someone who values time and how I spend it. I make sure that I do everything possible to not forget about events, meetings, etc. Technology has made that really easy for us. The anger was really internal. After all, I knew that if I continued to bet on other jobs, systems, and institutions, I would keep running into situations like this because I am just another number waiting to be called. 

It was at that moment that I said fuck it, fuck them, and fuck this.

I am going to go all in because the only person who is going to value me, my energy, my time, and creativity is me. And in that moment I told myself I am going to go all in on myself because I’ve come to a crossroad and the only road that looks promising is the one that is less traveled on and, quite frankly, the last path left for me.

I sat down in deep thought, questioning myself, what do I do next? What is next for me? I can’t continue on the path I have been on because it’s been miserable for my soul. I glanced over at my computer and realized that I still had that brand page and my pictures. When I had another quiet moment, I sat down with those pictures and analyzed them, while also remembering the feelings I had while observing and taking them. That feeling was happiness, which I had never felt before. It was a different version of happy. 

The answer was simple and something that I honestly already knew, but it was something that couldn’t be ignored anymore. It was now or never. I selected my favorites, scheduled them for upload across all platforms, closed my laptop, and went on about my day. 

Following Curiosity Instead of Certainty

The next day came, and after my morning walk, I checked my analytics to see if I was getting any traction, to find that I was getting about as much traffic as any week-old social media account would. I continued taking pictures and posting because now I was chasing the feeling of being free to observe and create exactly how I want to. Even though I had been chipping away at The Cosmic Radar for the past year, this was the first time I was truly being creative without fear or procrastination. I would have an idea for a shoot and immediately take action. All impulses, as far as photography was concerned, were immediately acted on. 

One night, I was browsing the Facebook feed and stumbled across my local city’s museum Facebook page to find that they posted about their new temporary exhibit. I had just been there and was able to take some good shots and video. This impulsive feeling crept up on me, so I left a comment from my brand’s Facebook page about how I just saw the exhibit and loved it. I was the only comment on the page, but I didn’t care; it was from my brand’s page, so no one would know it was me. 

Roughly 24 hours later, I checked my iPad to find that I had a notification from Facebook. I found that to be strange because I was not expecting anything. As I said earlier, my social media pages were brand new with 0 engagement. A few swipes later, I found over 10 notifications on my brand’s page that were filled with heart reactions, comments about the pictures, shares, and page follows. I was in disbelief! I looked over to show my brother, shocked that my notifications were filled with positive comments about my pictures I had taken!

Once I got home, I managed to get to the bottom of how they found the page, and to my surprise, it was because I left that comment on the local Museum’s Facebook page. The person who shared my post responded to someone else, saying they found my Facebook page via the museum’s page. I was feeling so many emotion it almost became overwhelming to me. This has never happened to me, not even with The Cosmic Radar!

One person shared my first Facebook post showcasing my pictures, and that was a domino effect that brought in so much positivity. I had posted a picture of a church that caught my attention, and the best friend of the person who is restoring the building found my page. We had a few comments back and forth about how beautiful the building is, and I sent my praises to her friend because she is doing a wonderful job!

There were other comments from people tagging other people under my post, which ended up leading to more engagement and traffic to my page. With my brand page being roughly a week old, I currently have 13 followers, a milestone that I never expected because it was just supposed to be a fun account. 

I immediately cleaned up the pages and removed the taglines and details that I initially set up, thinking this would be a lead generator for my real estate career. After replying to comments and seeing which posts garnered the most reactions, I realized that I needed to go in a different direction. This was no longer a lead generator business model; it is a place to document the everyday beautiful moments that this region carries. Starting with my hometown, Manassas, Virginia. 

Upon reflecting on my success on social media, the pictures, and the feeling I had from being in a creative space with creative energy, I realized that I want to keep doing this. I want to see how far it will take me. It was the closest feeling that I had when I watched someone else go after their creative dreams. Dare I say that I have found my purpose? It’s still early in the journey, but it damn sure feels like I have stumbled on something that I want to become my life’s work. 

In all of these million realizations, the one that was the hardest to come to terms with was this brand, The Cosmic Radar. Yes, I’ve been actively working on this brand, but not in the way that I have with The Capital Companion. I’ve been doing the bare minimum, thinking that I was in my creative energy. There has been progress, but it has been slow, due to my own doing. It’s been slow because the fear element was still front and center, reminding me that it’s safer to do what I’ve been doing. But now, since I’ve had a taste of success with something else, I have to bring that energy to the brand that made it possible that I can be an entrepreneur, or at least dream about it. 

The Universe Can’t Steer a Parked Car

I also had another realization, which sparked the title of this post: the Universe can’t steer a parked car. I can’t discover a new road to take if the car never moves. The only way to get where you want to be is to start moving, even if it is not the right road at first. Eventually, you will reroute to where you are supposed to be. How can I stumble across that “random” opportunity that changes my life if I have never left the garage? The momentum that catapults us into a new life needs to be built up by doing. By trying, by putting yourself out there in hopes something dope comes from it.

Oftentimes, I would ask and pray for things but never received exactly what I wanted because I allowed fear to stop me in my tracks. There was always something in my mind that stopped me from acting immediately on those creative impulses. The lack of confidence in yourself, the fear of the unknown, and a shit ton of other human emotions will literally stop you from finding the alignment that will get you exactly what you want in life. 

It took me being forgotten for an interview and constant rejection emails to realize that it was me holding myself back the entire fucking time. Although I was consistently getting rejected, I still was applying because, honestly, it is easier to follow someone else’s dream than it is not easy to figure out your own. The wasting of my time and realizing that everyone has their own shit going on somehow stirred up energy in me that I like to think I alchemized into something creative. And the universe did its part by showing me what happens when you follow those impulses. 

Maybe it had to happen that way for me to think that I need to return to my corporate origins in order to be successful. That person had to forget about that interview to wake something up inside of me. And it worked because ever since all of this has happened, I have been consistent in staying in alignment with that creative energy. I have an idea, I map it out briefly, I act on it, I upload, I see immediate reactions. Simple stuff. 

The universe hasn’t been giving me results because I would not turn the car on. The universe responds to action, and I was expecting to get to my destination and reap the benefits, but my car wasn’t even on, warmed up, or ready to go. I was just stuck in the driver’s seat, dreaming. 

Looking back now, I don’t think the universe was ignoring me. I don’t think it was withholding opportunities or waiting for me to become someone else before rewarding me. It was simply waiting for me to move.

Every opportunity that has come my way over these past few weeks came after I acted. Not before. The comments, the shares, the engagement, the conversations with strangers, and the overwhelming feeling that I might have finally found something that I want to dedicate my life to all happened because I stopped waiting for certainty and started following my curiosity.

Maybe that’s how life has always worked.

We spend so much time asking the universe for signs while sitting completely still, hoping that clarity will arrive before we take the first step. But clarity isn’t found standing still. It is found in motion. It is found in trying, failing, observing, creating, and repeating the process over and over again until something finally clicks.

The universe has been trying to steer me this entire time.

I just never put the car in drive.

If you made it to the end, thank you. Check out my Facebook page, The Capital Companion.