The Comeback Chapter
Why is finding out what you want to do and who you want to be so damn hard?
I feel like we were brought up (at least most of us) with so many expectations. Who we need to be, what we need to do: find a job and you’ll be successful, marry young, have kids, do sports, but also meditate, have a social life, oh, and don’t forget you need to sleep early because of “sleep hygiene.” Eat healthy, but also go out with your friends. Dress well, be pretty but not too provocative. “We want to hire you, but you need five years of experience,” when you’re fresh out of college. The list is endless.
How do people juggle everything? How do those who make “day in the life” videos on social media seem to do it all? I’d really like to peek into their days because I know I’d have a meltdown.
Being in your late 20s is such a roller coaster. You realize who you are, what you want to be, and what you don’t. You learn to love. You learn heartbreak. You move out, you move back in.
So many emotions, so many experiences. No wonder most people have meltdowns.
I know I’ve had my fair share. And now I’m living through yet another beautiful change I had coming. It crept up on me when I least expected it. Ready for it?
Drumroll, please.
Long-anticipated breakup, finding freedom again, going back to writing, and moving cities. Oh, and I forgot: What do I want to do with my life?
No biggie, your usual life-pondering cocktail.
At first, I thought it was just boredom at my job. Then I blamed the city. Then I thought maybe my relationship wasn’t helping me figure it out. And when that ended, I knew it was fate telling me to finally move my ass. But here’s the weird part: when your whole life turns upside down, it’s somehow blissful, freeing, bizarre, and sad all at the same time.
Since then, I’ve been writing and rewriting — not just my CV but my own thoughts. Protecting my old self, replaying my old relationship, while secretly missing just sitting down and typing out whatever I wanted. Oversharing with whoever happens to read this.
And of course, the toxic thoughts showed up: “If I can leave my relationship, I can quit my job and find something better.” Followed by: “But what if I don’t actually have any real qualities?”
It’s ridiculous. I know I can do a million things, but when it comes to selling myself in job applications, I’m useless. I sit at my computer for eight hours, firing off CVs, pretending that’s “enough” to get hired. The real trick, though? Convincing myself I’m worthless. That no one will hire me. That I’m not enough.
Today I caught myself doom-scrolling LinkedIn instead of actually applying, and thought: enough. Who even am I right now? When did I stop believing in myself?
Here’s what hit me: most of the time, job-hunting isn’t about learning or growing. It’s about ego. About wanting to be seen, validated, admired. Rarely about wanting actually to enjoy the work.
As my best friend always says, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” And I used to hate when he said that, because do you know how many people don’t do what they love? How many are stuck in a 9-to-5 they despise?
He’s lucky, so he can’t see it. But over time, I started to understand. Watching him work and love his life made me realize that’s what I want. That feeling of satisfaction. That “I did it” moment—that genius of wanting something and actually getting it.
So unfortunately, this isn’t a guide on “how to get a job.”
It’s more of a “how to get off your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
Start small. Don’t aim to be CEO if you’re not even ready to be a manager yet. Be humble enough to learn.
Figure out what you need to learn. Life is trial and error, not perfection.
So what if you’re in your late 20s and suddenly decide fashion makes you happier than finance? Scary, yes. But everything you’ve learned so far still counts. Nothing’s wasted. I was a clueless journalism intern at 18. Ten years later, I’m a copywriter at one of the biggest agencies in France. Writing was always the thread — I just never saw it coming this way.
After you get through the part of convincing yourself that it is, in fact, okay to learn again — be it at a new job, a new field, or a master’s — then you really just have one thing to do: ACTION.
Do it. What’s the worst that can happen? Being told no? Would that be so scary? How do you know if it’s going to work if you never try?
Take me for example: after my breakup in the summer, I was absolutely done with everything involving Paris, back to a work crisis, and honestly, more than heartbroken. I didn’t know what was going on or who I was. But what did I do? I learned, I worked on myself, and I liberated myself from the constraints of what “needed” to be done. Fast forward to today, I am living my best life, enjoying Paris, seeing a life coach, and most of all, I made the decision and took action to move cities, which I’m in the process of. But how would I have gotten to this point if I didn’t just act?
My little secret mantra has become: “When there’s a will, there’s a way”. And believe me, there is ALWAYS a will. You just need to trust your gut and follow it — wherever it may take you.
So do I have all the answers? Absolutely not. And I don’t know where this new chapter will take me yet, but I do know I’ll keep writing my way through it. And if you’re here reading, I’m glad you’re along for the ride.
So I hope you enjoy, because Lo’s Thoughts is back.