Carlos Quiroga's Portfolio

We’ve all encountered those moments when it feels like time stands still. Whether it’s the dissatisfaction with a career that doesn’t align with your passion or the excruciating wait for a pivotal moment, the sensation of being stuck is an unmistakable part of the human experience. We’ve all heard the advice to make the best of these pauses, but the real conundrum lies in deciphering the “how.”

As I reflect on my own journey through these stagnant periods, I’ve come to realize that the beauty of life often lies not in the uninterrupted flow but there is a lot one can do when taking a break, the pauses can propel us toward transformation. These moments of standstill have been my crucibles, forcing me to confront discomfort, uncertainty, and the profound challenge of finding purpose in moments of stillness.

My Story

In 2020, I had just dropped out of architecture school to pursue my dream of inmigrating to Canada, it was a really scary decision but it was the path that I wanted to follow, but I didn’t knew what was coming my way. I did all the respective process to apply for an student visa, but an unfurtunate event in this process fully stopped my plans, and suddenly I was stuck with no inmediate way out; this created a tsunami of fear and anxiety that came into me without previous warning, which almost led me to a really bad path, if it wasn’t for my dad, how took me for a run and helped me controll my emotions, and see the ligth at the end of the tunnel.

What followed was one of the best years of my life, this was because when I finally saw the reallity of my situation, I was able to make a plan to prepare for when these circumstances finally ended, and suddenly with the help of my family and my personal coach, what fel like a jail suddlenly became a break to develop myself, this led to getting my first jobs which gave me a lot of knowledge and helped me discover one of my passions which are the sales, also I met a lot of wonderful people and took time to get to know places that other wise I would have never visited.

Tips

Take a breath: This is what I consider the most important tip because in these types of of situations we become really succeptible to every influence that comes in our way, so its important to stop for a little and evaluate really good your position before making any decisitions.

Find help: I understand that this is sometimes scary and in some cultures it can be seen as a sign of weakness but as a member of a culture that suffers from that, specially in situations like the one I mentioned, it is really important to get profesional help because otherwise it is possible to enter in loops that prevent you from seeing the bigger picture.

Take advantage of what surronds you: In this types of cases is easy to get blinded by all the fears and emotions that attack you, but once you stop and look around you, you can find beauty in a lot of things that otherwise would go unnotice, you can even see that shirt you bougth and never wore and suddenly like it or find a hobby you never expected to like.

In conclusion, sometimes life rewards you with breaks disguised as prison cells, you just have to stop for a second, breath and enjoy all the beatiful things that come with these little breaks and all the opportunities that present with them, in my case, When I look back at this break I mentioned it was one of the best things that has happened to me, mainly because it led me to meet the most amazing person I have met.

Thank you for reading!