If I were to admit something about myself, it would be that I am awfully indecisive.
I simply can’t make up my own mind. Or maybe I can? Anyway, I take 10 to 15 minutes out of my morning routine, just as I’m about to leave, and have a personal debate – do I spice it up and wear Converse today, or not? This often results in the obvious choice: wear my everyday sneakers and not the Converse. Even though I always go with the obvious choice, that indecisive thought process is critical.
Now that you know this tidbit about me, imagine this. An indecisive, 20-something-year-old having to make one of the biggest and most life-altering decisions they have ever had to make.
I graduated school back in May 2018. I was writing for a local magazine in Windsor and working full-time as a barista at a Starbucks. I was content with my situation, but then I wouldn’t be. I couldn’t make up my mind. Shocker, right?
I was writing, working and maintaining a breezy social life, but I wanted more. There wasn’t much opportunity in Windsor aside from the magazine and my chances of working in Detroit were slim.
I started looking for jobs outside of Ontario and that’s when I came across an opening for the Free Press. I had never heard of 100 Mile House before, but I applied anyway.
They must’ve really liked me because they offered me the job.
It hit me: this was real, it was happening. I needed to make the biggest decision I have ever had to make, which is not an easy thing to do when you’re as indecisive as me. Do I take the job across the country? Will I survive on my own? Would my car make it? Could I live so remotely?
When I did some research on 100 Mile House, I was really intrigued when I learned of its rich history, going back to the fur trading days. I have always been a fan of the television show Gold Rush, so the idea of living in a region of B.C. that thousands of gold seekers have travelled through was really cool.
I was starting to sell myself on the idea of living here, but I thought very hard about the decision. I didn’t know if I was actually capable of leaving my friends, family and city life. What I did know was that I was ready to start following my dreams of working in the media industry and this job opportunity was a step in the right direction.
I took the job. It wasn’t your everyday sneakers decision, but it was the obvious choice for me.
Before I knew it, the month I had been given to prepare for the move had gone by and it was time I said farewell to everything I had ever known. My friends, my family, my dogs and my beloved border-city, Detroit, Michigan. I packed my car and left for B.C.
As I drove down the hill coming into town, it hit me… it would be quite some time before I got that sweet taste of city living again.
You are now in the Cariboo, kid.
I didn’t have the easiest time adjusting upon my arrival, but it got better, much better, and it’s been worth it.
I have noticed one thing, there’s a common response when someone here learns where I moved from: “What the heck brought you here?”
My ambition to pursue my dream of working in the media industry, that is what brought me here to 100 Mile House.