Finding Your Own Path with Carolyn Waters
Yuliana Kim-Grant’s guest, Carolyn Waters, recounts the big moment of crisis when she realized the career she had spent 20 years building may not have been the life she was meant to live. In spite of her fears of leaving an established career behind and the fear she may never find her path, on this episode, you’ll hear the outcome of how this one step into the unknown, ended with her finding a surprising new career and life, both of which may have been what was intended for her all along.
Carolyn tells Yuliana about leaving her longstanding career in financial services to take a self-imposed sabbatical, where she gave herself six months to read, travel, explore, and get back in touch with everything she loved to do. This led her to volunteer at the New York Public Library, which ultimately became her salvation as she decided to pursue her Masters degree in Library Science from the Pratt Institute, and she is now the Head Librarian at the New York Society Library. Carolyn talks about what it was like to make a dramatic career change in her 40s, how much more rewarding her work is now that she is on her life’s path, and finding a healthy work/life balance as she takes on more challenges and responsibilities in her new profession. She shares the emotional story of her husband’s Stage 4 Melanoma diagnosis, how they overcame this difficult time in their lives, and the ways in which this experience shaped her worldview moving forward. Carolyn encourages listeners to take the opportunity to self-reflect if they are unhappy in their current circumstances, and that in doing so, this could lead to the path they’re truly meant for.
Carolyn’s inspired story of reinvention is a beautiful representation of our capacity to rebuild and reimagine as women, and shows us that it’s never too late to create a new journey in this life, and discover where we’re really supposed to be.
Episode Highlights:
Carolyn worked in financial services for many years and finally got the point where she felt she had to do something else
Despite spending 20 years working toward this career, she quit after slowly building up to her breaking point and coming up with a plan for her next step
She gave herself six months to read, travel, explore, volunteer, and get back in touch with what she really loved to do
She found herself at the New York Public Library often, began volunteering there, and that experience ultimately became her salvation
Carolyn is now the Head Librarian at the New York Society Library
Library school is a process of understanding information systems, how to find systems, how to catalog systems, and find very specific information
Carolyn’s work ethic from her previous career translated to her new profession
She wanted to make this big change to create a better life for herself, with a healthier work/life balance
Even when she has challenging days, she reminds herself that it’s so much more rewarding than what she was doing before, and it was the right thing to do
She is inherently drawn to solitude as a librarian, but also has a very public-facing role
Her husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma, and this terrifying experience led her to take stock of her life and truly appreciate what she had
She focused on helping him get through it and get better, and did not stop to emotionally process what was happening until later
Carolyn’s words of advice for anyone experiencing career dissatisfaction - find your own path
The one song that most resonates for Carolyn about her life’s journey