Life Lessons, Inspiration, Self-empowerment
Rock Stars, Escorts & My Superpower
Embracing my dream job at age 50
Somebody asked me what my three most intriguing jobs were, and I told her:
- The radio station because I got to meet rock stars and talk on the air.
- The Classifieds department at a newspaper because I met the sexy escorts I wrote the x-rated ads for.
- The preschool I taught at because I could sing and dance with the kids.
Today, I finally landed my dream job.
I sing like a rock star, dress as sexy as I want, and have the freedom to dance like nobody’s watching and — be myself.
The Big 50 & My Superpower
In a fitness article I wrote, I said, “The horrible truth of approaching 49 meant the big 50 was around the corner. My life was more than half-over — my body was slowing down, and the fragility of aging terrified me. But instead of accepting the downfalls of middle-age — it fueled me to try harder.”
In that story, I’m talking about the personal fitness journey I embarked on to revive my energy, self-confidence, and sensuality I gradually lost over the years from the stress and fatigue that comes with parenting, work, and the chaos of daily living.
I was exhausted. I needed to take action and rewrite the boring “I can’t do it” story I was telling myself and everyone else.
“Believe in yourself, take on your challenges, dig deep within yourself to conquer fears. Never let anyone bring you down. You got to keep going.” — Chantal Sutherland
Embracing age 50 means that I can do whatever the hell I want. My dream job starts with me — doing the hard work to better myself.
My feisty spirit & self-empowered super feeling
When I rewrote my story and started with “I can do it,” I pushed and cursed my body through sweaty workouts, started making progress — and began to believe in my own voice. I lost twenty pounds, built muscle, strength, endurance, flexibility, and regained my youthful energy.
My job was to reclaim my feisty spirit and self-empowered super feeling — by changing the song in my head — which for me, meant committing and persevering with exercise every day.
“It’s never too late to reclaim your inner diva and reclaim your inner strength.”— Michelle Visage
When I did my job — that became my superpower.
Working my butt off
Working hard on my body improved my mental health, self-esteem, self-image — exercising gives me a natural high.
It gave me the drive to improve my writing skills, the ego boost I needed to put my stories out there, the patience to become a better parent, the compassion to be an empathetic life partner, and the sexy killer attitude to own up to my age — without lying about it.
Working my butt off through exercise gave me the power to do my job.
“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.” — Carol Welch
Harnessing my Superpower
Today, I can do a 5-minute headstand, hold a 90-second crow pose, do 69 consecutive cartwheels, cross the monkey bars, and do a scissor handstand. I placed 4th in the 2020 Ms. Health & Fitness Competition, swam in the Pacific Ocean during the winter, and created my own marathon adventure that incorporates ocean swimming, cartwheels, and yoga — at age 50!
I couldn’t do one push-up or any of the above two years ago. I started with a self-challenge to walk 10,000 steps on the first day of my fitness journey, writing my first “can do it story” and devoting myself to daily exercise and a series of personal fitness challenges.
The mind and body don’t fall apart upon reaching middle age. People can rewrite their stories in their heads and start believing in themselves because if someone ordinary like me — can prove the theory, find momentum, and defy middle age — so can others.
My real job & self mantra
My real job began when I started working on myself — by trying to better my life — pushing myself instead of coasting, learning new things instead of pretending I can’t, saying yes or maybe it’s possible — instead of no.
My life work supports my health, family, self-care, and love. It doesn’t come with a salary, but the bonuses are ongoing — as long I keep trying. My current day job isn’t as intriguing as my top three jobs were, but it’s secure, pays the bills, provides for my family, and my workplace is in a healthy environment. It allows me the space to work on myself and I try to apply the same life philosophies during my workday.
My dream job was launched through fitness adventures and storytelling when I created my self-mantra, “Try, Mary, Try!” In doing so, I shared my fitness and writing experiences on social media, my blog, and online publications.
After my personal job evaluation and probationary period, my purpose became driven by supporting my peers through accountability with the Facebook fitness group I lead through monthly exercise challenges.
This is my real work. Practice, perspiration, perseverance — progress. Repeat.
Later on, my job’s purpose was fueled through writing — by supporting and encouraging my fellow writers. To push me out of my comfort zone, I challenged others to tell a story in six words inspired by a photo. I dared myself and writers to take photos of ourselves doing something brave, new, or something we love — to create a deeper human connection by giving readers a glimpse of the people behind their stories.
This is my purpose. Share my story and encourage people to shine, together.
Proud as hell
I’m proud of my work, proud of being a parent, and want to be a good role model for my kid. Truth — I needed to prove to my 10-year-old son that I’m not old. At age 50, I can keep up with his stride — even though he beats me at every running race through the forest trails, is getting better at arm wrestling, and can lift me — two inches off the ground.
Ten-year-old boys are fast and strong — but he can’t do 69 consecutive cartwheels.
Today — I’m a rock star. I dress in whatever the hell that I want, dance my butt off, write with vulnerability, and jump up and down until my sweat drips onto the ground— because I don’t give a f*ck if anybody’s watching.
That’s the type of confidence that comes with middle-age.
I sing at the top of my lungs in the shower, wear denim cut-off shorts, red lipstick, and dance, scream and swear as loud as I want — because I found my stage.
This is owning and loving 50 — I AM my dream job. I found my superpower.
Rock Star
But I still have work to do. I need to learn how to sing — on key. Because my next goal is to sing one song — beautifully. I’ve got my superpower and my writing voice, but I need to find my singing voice.
There will be moments where I’d rather hang out backstage, doubt myself, and hide, but I’ve learned to persevere through those fears and anxieties because those moments will pass.
I’m counting on living until 100 because I need voice lessons — lots of them.
“Never… never… whether you are five or 100, never give up. It’s never too late.” — Bill Duke
I’m starting raw — but I can jump high.
I’m the rock star who won’t quit. Give me that microphone — I’m ready to shine.
About the Author
Mary Chang is an award-winning short story fiction writer, memoir writer, blogger, and editor of the Six Word Photo Story Challenge publication, inspired by her 6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge writing prompt on Medium. She’s also a parent, fitness enthusiast, obsessed with rock stars, and wants to learn to sing one song someday — beautifully.
Fueled by cartwheels, laughter, and encouraging people to shine. Read her blog at www.marychangstorywriter.com.
Grateful for your reading time, Mary Chang Story Writer.
