I Never Knew I Could Be Happy Living a “Normal” Life

Why does everyone want to be famous?

Photo by Chermiti Mohamed from Pexels

I’ve always wanted to be extraordinary.

In high school, I was in a singing all-girl group with my sister and some friends, and we dreamt of performing on stage in front of thousands of people. When I graduated, I started a blog and imagined what it’d be like to be an influencer with a blue check beside my name. When I started writing a book, my goal was to get on the New York Times Best Seller list.

I never started a project without hoping to become one of the best. Until now.

A couple of years ago, my sisters started an Etsy shop selling stickers. As of right now, they have over 2,000 sales and about 500 five-star reviews. Maybe they’re not earning enough to say they’re “making a living” but I’ve no doubt they’ll get there in a few years, if not sooner.

My sister came up to me yesterday and said, “You want to know a secret?”

“Obviously,” I said.

“Someone from Etsy reached out to us this morning and asked us if we want to be on the Editor’s Pick page.”

Out of the millions of Etsy stores on the site, my sisters were chosen. I was overjoyed and excited. At 23 and 20, my sisters are earning money by creating products they love, targeting people they want to represent: the Latino community.

Now, I wrote online for five years and didn’t see as much success as I’d hoped. Actually, I got so burnt out from working at home by myself that I stopped writing. For months I questioned my purpose, my worth, my entire being. It was the first time since I’d graduated high school in 2016 that I didn’t have a goal of greatness. (In this case, “greatness” represents high numbers of followers or fame.)

Eventually, I started working at a movie theater and began taking a course to get certified as a TEFL instructor to teach abroad.

I’m not earning money “doing what I love.” I make $15 an hour and am in my own version of school at 24 years old. I’m not chasing a dream that will give me “greatness.” So when my sisters told me about their recent win, I evaluated how I really felt, thinking I would find jealousy underneath or even resentment.