I recently stumbled upon the fig tree story…
…and I thought starting these blogs with a powerful, kind of depressing but incredibly inspirational story would be a great start!
In The Bell Jar, author Sylvia Plath uses the fig tree as a metaphor for the many life paths available to the protagonist, Esther Greenwood. As she imagines sitting beneath the tree, she is paralyzed by the overwhelming choices – each fig representing a different future, such as career or marriage. Fearing that choosing one fig means rejecting others, Esther debates which fig to pick – but the longer she waits, the more figs drop to the ground. Her non-actions stem from the fear of missing out on opportunities.
In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath’s fig tree metaphor captures how life’s many options – each fig representing a potential path like career, love, or creativity – can leave us paralyzed by indecision, like choosing one means sacrificing the others.
I relate to Esther. I grew up loving many things, being passionate about music, art, travel, nature, human connection, psychology, science.
When it came down to choosing one to focus on in college, I was lost. I picked what felt like made the most sense at the time, which was Environmental Geoscience. This was broad enough that I wasn’t actually picking a major, but narrow enough to be able to find a job.
After looking at all of the figs, I picked the one that looked the most appealing.
Graduating in 2020 (COVID year) had me entering into a harsh job market and while I didn’t find a job in my field, I was able to find an executive assistant role for an incredible woman-owned engineering company. After over a year in this role, I found a job in my career field – environmental due diligence.
The job I spent 4 years working towards ended up being nothing like I dreamed. I thought I would travel to cool spots, bond with my coworkers, make a great salary, all while having a good work-life balance.
My fig started looking bruised, it tasted sour, and I started thinking about the other figs that I could’ve chosen.
What if I got a business degree and went into HR?
What if I jumped on TikTok during COVID so I could be rich and famous?
What if I took time off before college to decide on what I really wanted?
Instead of waiting for another fig to sprout, I decided to make my own. I attended a women’s conference in Dallas (Boss Vision Conference, 10/10 recommend) and I found Saba, a virtual assistant coach, that introduced me to the world of virtual assisting.
Shortly after attending this conference, well let me just drop a timeline below:
I booked the course and launched my business a month later (November 2022).
I landed my first client at $200 for 10 hours a month (December 2022).
Landed 3 more clients at a higher price point (January & February 2023).
Put in my 3 weeks notice in with my corporate job (April 2023).
Started as a full-time business owner (May 2023).
When you stop sitting on the what if’s and take ACTION towards what you WANT, it’s insane how fast you can make it a reality to yourself.
Trading my 9-5 for a full-time virtual assistant business was a HARD choice, but if I had to do it all over again, I would make the same choice!
Stick around, I’ll be dropping blogs weekly sharing tips on being a virtual assistant, CEO mindset, content creation tips, and taking you behind the scenes of running an online business!
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