Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christina Boudreaux . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Christina , appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Where to start? Since I was eighteen, I’ve been a server, a lunch-lady, a key-holder at a family run jewelry store, a barista, a nanny, a social media manager at a car dealership, a blogger for Austin.com, a marketing manager at an Italian chain, and finally/currently, a marketing and territory manager for an alcohol brand. (shout-out to Meridian Hive!)

As I type, I’m remembering shorter stints at other spots too. An internship at the American Red Cross during my last year of undergrad. A few short months as a Blockbuster cashier. (I was eighteen and living at home, juggling this position along with the lunch lady and server jobs. My dad told me three jobs was too many for someone who was about to start college courses. I’m not sure how the lunch lady beat out free movie rentals, but eighteen-year-old me was in a perpetual state of confusion, so I’ll let it slide.)

I’ve worn many hats throughout the years. I’ve also worn many hats in the same year, during the same position.

I’ve collected lessons like souvenirs from each job. From every misstep and block in the road, I’ve built the framework for where I’m at right now.

During my different positions in the restaurant industry, I’ve learned terms like “behind” and “heard.” And how to make myself heard. How to work efficiently under pressure. And when to walk away.

As a barista, I learned how to make a mean latte. And how to effectively deal with really mean people first thing in the morning (and in everyday life.)

I thought I loved my first job after undergrad. For five years, I was a social media director for a car dealership. Now, I realize that I didn’t actually love it. I loved the flexibility. I loved that I could balance (barely, but still) this full time job with grad school and a toddler in tow. But I wasn’t passionate about it. There is nothing about cars that interests me, other than getting to places I want to go. I learned from this job that I wanted more than just a job. I wanted a career that was fulfilling, and that lit a fire in my soul. This job made me understand what I did want, but it took a few more years to find just that.

A year ago, I was interviewed by Voyage Austin when I was just getting settled into this position. I had already fallen madly in love, but wondered if it was a honeymoon phase. It wasn’t. I work with people who feel a lot like family. Who value what I bring to the table and tell me so often. I’ve never had as much fun either. It’s a career that allows me to adventure around my city and beyond, and that challenges me in the best ways possible.

It’s taken the cumulative lessons learned at every job I’ve ever had to get to this place I’m at right now. It’s taken many mistakes, heaps of humility (and humiliation) and plenty of tears. I’d like to say I’d do it all over again to get here, but honestly, I’m really glad I don’t have to. I have no desire to fast forward or rewind. Because being right here is my favorite place that I’ve been so far.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

This dates me, but I’ve been blogging since the Xanga days. I started journaling when I was five. I have vivid memories of walking around a grocery store trailing my mom’s grocery cart with a notebook and pencil in hand.

My entire family predicted that I’d be a writer of some kind one day, and this stubbornly made me avoid a career with any position that could have been deemed “a writer” for years. I was determined to lay my own claim on the world, to not be one anyone else had predicted I’d be, even if that prediction was meant as a compliment. I also wasn’t sure whether writing was a passion, or if it was just something that came easily to me.

I’m glad I took my time to figure things out on my own. But, no matter what, I always found my way back to writing. It’s always found a way to sneak back into my life somehow.

Nowadays that looks like freelancing as a blogger, and marketing management for Meridian Hive. Writing copy for an alcohol brand is fun. Boozy banter, if you will.

I’m also 250+ pages into a project that I’m really excited about. But more on that later.

I’m at a point in my life and in my career where I feel the perfect combination of free and fulfilled. Where I’m settled enough to feel a sense of stability, but have the flexibility to allow for the wonder of what comes next. The possibilities seem endless in this moment.

And, for the record, I’m really happy to be writing right now.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I sometimes can’t help but think back to the girl I was at seventeen. I would love to hug her.

I didn’t have yet have a driver’s license. I was working hard not to fail a basic math class as a high school senior. I’d never been kissed, which I truly thought was the ultimate tragedy.

I just laughed writing that last sentence. Because at the time, it devastated me. If only I could tell younger me what was ahead of her.

That, tomorrow morning, she’ll head to the airport for a two week trek around Europe with her husband and travel partner of nearly 13 years. That she married someone good, and kind and who is her very best friend. That they have a redheaded eight-year-old and a one hundred pound mutt named Tuna and a much smaller cat named Fish. That she will grow and she will hurt and she will learn, and that it will take all of that to get to where she is right now. That right now, she lives a life that she loves, created wholly on her own terms.

She wouldn’t believe me. And actually, I wouldn’t tell her a thing. Because each revelation, each new discovery of the world around her and within her, has been pure magic.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I can’t go back to talk to my younger self. But I do have a younger person always watching me.

My actions now will undoubtedly affect her own later in life. It’s always been important to me that she sees me enjoying life and fulfilling my own personal goals. Because one day she may be a mom. Or she won’t be. Either way, I want her to always know that her desires and dreams are important. In a country that now quite literally forces motherhood, I need her to understand that being a mom is not the thing that defines her. That she matters, not as someone who can create someone else, but as an entity in and of herself.

I have made it a mission to live a life that I love. To eat and explore the city I live in. To go new places as often as I can. To build a career that brings me joy. To make a dent in my ever-growing collection of books. I’ve recently started asking her which book I should read next. She’s started asking me to summarize the books I read, which brings me a lot of joy.

Maybe one day she’ll love reading and writing and traveling like I do. And maybe she won’t. At the moment, she’s really into gaming, just like her dad. Whatever her passions are right now and later in life, I want to encourage those. Whoever she grows up to be, I want to encourage that person.

More than anything, in living my life as fully and unapologetically as I can, I hope I can inspire her to do the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: christinagoingplaces.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/christinagoingplaces

Image Credits
Morgan Elise Photography