Life of MR: Update

January 22, 2020 by ThelifeofmaryreyesPersonal

Okay, I know, I know. What the heck happened to me writing on here?!

Honestly, I don’t really know. One minute I was supposed to fly to Kuwait, then I quit my job, and then spent a couple weeks trying to find any place that was hiring. Then I got a job at the Marriott. Now I’m living in Colorado.

What.

If you read my last post Four Years Later- A Melodramatic Ending then you know that quitting flying was such a difficult and emotional decision. It was both spontaneous and years of thought all rolled into one moment where I was crying to Kevin and my mom about the decision. So, after that I took a couple weeks to get settled on land. I started looking for a job- pretty much any job- as I never reached my “what do I want to be when I am a grown up” decision.

I got a job at the Marriott near Bush Intercontinental pretty quickly. They offered me a couple of different job opportunities: HR assistant, sales associate, or front desk associate. I accepted the front desk associate position with the promise of a promotion as soon as one was available. At first I didn’t tell anyone besides my family and close friends where I worked. I didn’t write about it, didn’t post about it. That’s why I went invisible on here, friends. For some stupid reason, I was just…embarrassed. Embarrassed because I quit without anything lined up, which I never thought I’d do. Embarrassed because I got a job at a hotel. Now, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the fact that it was a hotel that I was upset with. It was that throughout my flying career, going into the hospitality industry just made sense. It was a logical step. And I just never intended it.

The thing is: I’m good at hospitality. I’m damn good.

And would you believe it: The Marriott turned out to be one of the best experiences in my life. I never felt more appreciated than when I was at the Marriott. The people there…are sweet, hardworking, and magnificent. And the job itself was humbling. It was a good chance to showcase what I learned from flying, but I didn’t need to stuff myself into a metal tube to do it. It was hard work and every agent there deserves a damn good raise. It was truly a time where I quickly learned so much more about myself. Consuelo, if you every read this, thank you for being my best friend at the Marriott. You made every day the very best day.

a9c68079-ff54-4135-984a-e96a65484162 — They even surprised me with a going-away party!

I got the promotion after-all, but within roughly the same time frame as learning we were moving to Colorado. Still, I learned some pretty important lessons during this time of my life (like four months ago, but still). I learned:

It’s not the job that defines you. The front desk associate position turned out to be exactly what I needed after flying. There is so much more that goes into that work than traveling makes you believe.
It’s okay to make a change. Having the time to figure things out and be settled on ground for the first time in over four years was rewarding on its own. I got to have weekends again, got to see my friends more, attended family events, finally toured NASA with Kevin, went to the Renaissance Festival. I had a life again.
My support system is the biggest reason I didn’t snap in half from stress. This life change was stressful. I mean, stressful. You’re talking about a complete change of lifestyle, change of finances, change of routine. My family, Kevin, and friends and their support helped me keep it all together.
That Kevin really is my best friend. You would think it would be hard to go from being gone to being together all the time, but I still miss him when he’s not near me. Like right now when he’s at work and I’m in our Colorado home typing this.