Goodbye, 2024: A Year of Tears, Risks, and Transformation

Goodbye, 2024: A Year of Tears, Risks, and Transformation

Goodbye, 2024: A Year of Tears, Risks, and Transformation

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Au revoir, 2024! What a whirlwind youā€™ve been. Right from the start, you brought your A-game. By January, I was handed a postpartum depression diagnosis. Not even a month into the new year, I left a company I had worked with for a decadeā€”a place I once loved, walking away with the kind of tears that flood waterfalls. Was I making the biggest mistake of my life?

Fast forward to a job at Dailylookā€”a mix of fun, high-school drama vibes, and paychecks just big enough to cover daycare. Then came the kicker: a mass Zoom layoff in April. Picture 20-plus employees, the CEO fumbling an explanation about ā€œmiscalculated numbers,ā€ and managers staring blankly like extras in a bad soap opera. It felt like a fever dream. I closed my laptop, sent a text to my cousin-in-law, and promptly cried my face off.

With my husband off on a two-week fishing trip, I was left to greet him at the door, jobless, overstimulated, and crying enough to fill Lake Michigan. But I tried my best to be optimistic, telling him, ā€œMaybe this is a sign! I can finally focus on my business!ā€

That ā€œbusinessā€ was once thriving with branding collabs and custom clients, but life (and a lot of therapy) had shifted my priorities. By June, I went full-time with Patriciaā€™s Stationery + Designs, only to realize I hadnā€™t fully turned the engine back on after my long break. Cue panic mode.

The Wedding Expo I signed up for in October? A bust. Twenty-six brides booked consultations. Four showed up. Ouch. I had thrown my savings into what felt like a black hole of disappointment. And letā€™s not forget the Pizza Hut parking lot meltdown in Novemberā€”a cinematic scene of me ugly-crying after reading yet another email criticizing my pricing. I left a tear-filled voicemail for a friend, fixed my hair, and walked into a local yoga studio to ask if they were hiring. Spoiler alert: they were.

That brings me to now, where I find myself working part-time at the yoga studioā€”a job that doesnā€™t pay much but also doesnā€™t drain my soul. Iā€™ve cried buckets over what feels like a financial and professional step back, but hereā€™s the thing: when I shift my perspective, the story reads differently.

I left a toxic job. I took a big risk with a new company and, even though it didnā€™t pan out, it pushed me to dive back into my business. I found cracks in my business model and started patching them. And Iā€™m ending the year at a job I actually enjoy, talking about things I love, while steadily rebuilding Patriciaā€™s Stationery + Designs into something even better than before.

This morning alone, I packaged two orders, sketched a custom piece, and received a message from someone wanting to connect me with their wedding-industry-savvy sisters. Progress may be slower, but itā€™s progress.

Which brings me to 2025. My word for the year? Connection.
I want to connect with my clients by building a community they love. I want to connect with brick-and-mortar stores and licensing brands (Papyrus, call me!). I want to reconnect with friends, colleagues, and my family.

If 2024 taught me anything, itā€™s that even in chaos, thereā€™s growth. So hereā€™s to 2025ā€”a year of connections, opportunities, and whatever beautiful mess the universe throws my way.

XoXo-
Patricia

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