Got this from a Bella Honey Art Pinterest board.

Today is the first anniversary of my not having a full-time job.

And what a year it has been!  I started it with 2 weeks in New Zealand, connecting with my cousins and traveling with my dad. (And I still don’t have all of the pictures up online yet!)  Then for a few months, I tried my hands at being my own boss and found that I had much to learn.  A few odd jobs later, with a lead from my friend Matt, I landed at Saatchi LA and found a workplace I have been searching for.  That 4-week contract turned into very memorable 4 months.

Then the holidays came and I was back on the job marketing once more.  But it wasn’t for long as another friend Denise (@niecee) called and connected me with Ignited.  Another 4-week contract was signed and I was holding down the social media fort during the holidays into 2012.

Not only was I working on social media as a community manager, the job I’ve been chasing after for the past year, I also got to do some creative ideation as well.

19 years after I came to the U.S. looking to be the best goddamn creative director in the world, I finally get a taste of what working in a creative department is like!  AND I get to work with some brilliant people in a work place where my quirks were not shunned but embraced.

Alas, after almost 4 months there, my contract ended Friday. The universe has some great sense of humor. Thankfully, so do I.

Exactly one year from when I was first unemployed, I’m right back where I started. Well, not quite.

I have learned so much in a year. I have grown a lot in the past few months, getting to channel my passion into work, learning about the industry I have almost forgotten about, and being inspired to be creative every day.

Second round of unemployment may get me down eventually…like it did at some point last year. But at least this time around, I have my reawaken passion for creative work to keep me going.  Pardon the pun, but my stint at Ignited really did give me the spark that I need to feel inspired again.

Just about this time last year, the universe sent me some signs through music. So it seems that the signal continues as my friend sent me this clip yesterday, and I can’t stop watching it.

So, don’t you stop me now!