I've been thinking more and more about quitting my job as a cashier. At first I was so grateful to have the job, it was my first real source of steady income, and the money gave me freedom to go out into the world without having to ask my parents for funds. After a while I was able afford a car, which gave me even more freedom to be able to leave whenever I chose to do so. I was no longer confined to my home or the distance I wanted to ride my bike. It was liberating.

It was also a total weight on my shoulders. With the paycheck came the mentality that I could go and do whatever I wanted. But most things take money. Even to get from Point A to Point B took gas money out of my pocket. And with these ridiculous gas prices, money went quick. Then there's maintenance and insurance. The freedom that my car gave me was balanced with a responsibility to take care of it. This freedom was counterbalanced with a new confinement.

So anyways, my job...it's just not cutting it for me anymore. As the holidays creep closer (Halloween decor has been placed in the store since mid-September) I can feel the dread creeping in the pit of my stomach. I hate working during the holidays because, despite this season being about holiday cheer and thankfulness and selflessness and such, the worst in people comes out in full force. People get in fights over getting the last exclusive toy for their spoiled children, or grabbing as much of a holiday item as they can for fear that someone else may get to it first and leave none for them. The holidays get to be loud, obnoxious, and depressing. From a cashier's point of view. Ask anyone who works in retail, unless they're in denial or the enjoy being yelled at by people because we ran out of turkeys or toys or whatever, then they probably dislike working the holidays as much as I do. I've worked through two holiday seasons, and I can say that that is more than enough.

I'm looking for alternatives, but as a 20 year old with only 2 years of cashiering and guest service experience, there's not much I can do that varies greatly from what I already have here. What other options are there?

I've stumbled upon the website of Steve Palvina as of late, and he talks about how to work on personally development. He's very avid about creating your own personal business based on your personal strengths. And he suggests that instead of waiting to develop a plan and a logo and business cards and other such little details, that you should just go out and start. Which is what I'm trying to do now. I don't need to start big, I just need to start. I already have the blog, and although there's no true direction to it and post can be erratic at times, the general path that I follow leads me towards my interests in plants, art, and do-it-yourself projects. So that's what I'm going to be focusing on. Mostly I'll work on creating and promoting my own personal art, as well as posting DIY's that interst me, and plant related material that catches my interest.

So as to help motivate and remind myself, here's a list of a few things that I hope to accomplish to help me with my personal blog turned business.

1. Find an intersting and relevent blog name. Register it, and create a tradmark.
2. Write more often. Try to write once a day.
3. Paint/draw/crochet/sew/craft/etc more often. Try to do so once a day. And try to finish projects before getting bored then jumping to the next one.
4. Take more photos of things that interest me, or things that I'm doing. Chronicle my events with pictures.
5. Live more conciously. Take more opportunities to leave the house and get off the computer. But don't shirk away from responsiblity's like keeping up on homework and such.
6. Go outside more often. Hike, ride my bike, garden, go to the beach. Pick up rocks and shells and sticks and moss. Look for inspiration.
7. Make more of my own foods, and write about it.
8. Write a DIY tutorial on Saturdays and it S-A-T-U-R DIY. You know, kind of like that song? By the Bay City Rollers? S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! (This may not be the best idea because after doing a quick search online, it looks like I'm not the only one with the idea. Although I swore no one had thought of this last year when I did.)
9. Start offering some of my items up for sale. If I know people are willing to buy, it will in turn make me more willing to create.

So there, a few things to help me out in my attempt to maintin and possibly profit from this blog. Let's see where it goes.