At 19 (the summer after my freshman year at KSU) I took on the very lonely role of a door-to-door salesperson in an unknown part of
I will admit I was VERY dedicated the first 6 weeks and hardly strayed from my rigorous schedule. During those 6 weeks other team members were dropping like flies and leaving the program to go back home. I made a commitment to my team and to myself. I knew I could do it and I wanted to prove to family and myself that I could stick with it…as hard as it may be. As I struggled to get out of bed one morning at 6:30 am to jump into a cold shower and look in the mirror and say “today is a great day!’ I thought to myself. “It is not going to be a great day, no one wants me knocking on their door, I haven’t done anything fun in over a month, I have 36 mosquito bites on my legs, I wear a fanny pack daily and all I want to do is sleep in and then order a pizza!”
At this point I knew in order for me to make it the next 6 weeks of this summer job I would have to have a little work/life balance. I can still remember that first day, after a very intense 6 weeks of sales, that I slept in. I felt human again! My roommate and I slept in, then went to blockbuster and watched a movie before heading out later that afternoon to knock on a few doors in our territories. We immediately had a refreshed outlook on things and didn’t feel like we would be tempted to quit this crazy job. I’ll be honest and admit we took the living part of the equation a little over board and didn’t keep the balance that we should have. Malls, movie theaters, beaches, and restaurants were quickly becoming our addictions. Something we had to have in order to stay sane and keep selling door-to-door. There was even one day that I spent riding along with my roommate in her territory because I just couldn’t bring myself to knock on one single door. At about 6pm that night I felt a little guilty so I drove to my territory to try and sell for a few hours. Behind the first door was a mother who immediately let me inside, listened to my pitch, and bought everything I had in my bag! As she was writing me a check with a smile on her face, she looked at me and said ‘wow, you’re good!’ Needless to say this affirmation made me think that my new work/life balance was just what the doctor ordered!
As I look back to that very character building summer, I learned that in order for me to work that hard at something I also must do some ‘living’. Yes, I ended up straying a bit from the exact duties but ended up completing the 12 week program and even walked away with a nice chunk of change. All work and no play really does make Katie a dull and dare I say boring girl. So here I am at 25, working hard and playing just as hard and that’s what works for me. Maybe things will change as I get older but for now I can honestly say that recreation is a must in order for me to stay focused on my career. Oh, and I also have to maintain my title as ‘the life of the party!’
