Hello everybody, I am back from holidays and happy to write for you again! This time I wanted to share something personal with you and one of the questions that gets everybody curious is how I discovered my purpose or, how I discovered that natural vegan cosmetics was, against all odds, my passion.
Are you also curious? Keep on reading!
Inculcated with certain purposes as a child and young adult
Ever since I was a young child, parents and society tried to input in my brain that the main goal in life is to be successful and financially autonomous: buy your first car, buy a house, be a medical doctor, lawyer or school teacher!... I wanted to be a psychologist but, ''according to the prophecy'', that wasn't ''good enough'' and not a guarantee of getting a ''good'' job!
I was the 3rd in my family to go to university and the 1st in my nuclear family. It meant a lot to my parents that I wanted to go to university, as they wanted to give me the formal education they couldn't have themselves. Beautiful gesture, but also put a lot of pressure on me!
I believe that I was confused for a very long time and didn't really know what to do with my (professional) life. When I finished highschool I applied to a few universities and ended up attending a Sociology degree that I swapped into Human Resources Management, in Lisboa. I wasn't studying individual behavior but I was studying the group, living in a different more progressive city and far from home: all was fine!
Have a successful career they said...
I graduated and after a few simple beginner jobs I finally started working in my field of studies: that was the dream! I was told that I was lucky and I felt that way too.
The first 3 or 4 years went smoothly, I had lots of autonomy and worked on several satisfying projects. After that, I spent almost 10 more years (between Portugal and The Netherlands) changing jobs and pursuing the next best one but, deep down inside I was feeling empty and unfulfilled.
I used to say that I didn't choose my jobs, they chose me and I just went with the flow. I believe that I started living a double life: I created a very ''proper'' professional persona and acted accordingly during working hours and, the moment I left work the real me began.
I have become comfortably numb
At a certain point, I started not to be so fond of my job but I was afraid of losing it and stopped being able to support myself. I had a good standard salary, the sun was shining almost everyday, I had friends and the food was nice. What else do you need? Now I am aware that the days were passing by and I was getting sader.
I moved from Portugal to The Netherlands to carry on working in Human Resources related jobs, and l did it for another 4 years.
Mind the red flags
All the signs were there, I was just too blind to see! The job itself started being extremely political, with very low autonomy and vaguely defined goals. I started to feel that I was executing the dirty little work that the administration wasn't brave enough to deliver themselves. Most of the days I was feeling like a corporate zombie, dissociating and day dreaming frequently and feeling that I couldn't cope anymore.
Choosing to rethink my life choices
I really needed to break the chain. I was dying inside and I didnt know how to carry on, but one thing was certain: no more corporate HR jobs for me!!
I kept on thinking about what gave me pleasure in life and was simultaneously useful and fulfilling. I could imagine many things that I couldn't convert into a job but I thought that I couldn't do anything else.
Unless...wait a minute!... For more than 10 years I knew how to make simple natural vegan cosmetics. I started formulating and making them because I needed them for myself! I had acne prone skin for years and a light form of eczema that improved very significantly when I started using pure cosmetics... Maybe I could transform my little side project into my profession?! I helped myself, so I can also help others and do some good work!
Beginning again (or Only the fearless can be great?!)
I noticed that every time I was creating a new soap or a new cream I got carried away and produced way too much of it. I started giving it away to friends and family. They started asking where they could buy it and if they could have some more.
The demand grew. I did some marketing research and there it was, there was no way back! I made preparations and studied the business hard and within a year I created Primal Essence!
Since then I have become a certified herbalist and I am studying to get my advanced cosmetic formulation diploma. More than 5 years have passed now and I feel happier than ever!
Thanks for reading my little story! I hope that you enjoyed it and hopefully it inspired some of you that might be in need! Let me know if there is anything else you are curious about and what would you like to see next in the blog.
With Love,
Marisa
