I'm not quite sure if I can write this post without choking up, but here it goes...
I landed in Anaheim, California yesterday and for the next three days I shall be attending my first ever CHA MEGA Show (also known as The Craft & Hobby Association Conference & Tradeshow). I will be stationed in the me & my BIG ideas booth since (DUH!) I work for mambi, but also hope to stop by the We R Memory Keepers booth and get an eyeful of my two paper collections I created with them in the spring of last year.
I get choked up about it because I think back to three years ago. Three years ago around this time, I was 4.5 months into my job (career!) as a classroom teacher that I worked and prayed so hard for years to get, only to realize the work weakened me and I wanted out. Then, in my throws of "what do I do? what do I do?", I stumbled upon the images of January 2012's CHA Show on instagram.
Mind. Blown.
I researched about the tradeshow, I looked up what booths were there, watched the whole weekend via social media, and knew (like that song) this is where I wanna be. I couldn't believe that people got together in a venue as big as a convention center (!!!) to love and appreciate everything about an industry I so adored. These people were just like me! ...and furthermore, the tradeshow meant that people were making a living from craft & hobby! It could be a job! It could be my job!! It was where I belonged, I decided, and I've been persuing it ever since.
That was three years ago, and today it's pretty amazing I get to attend. ♥ I might've even bought a few new pieces of apparel for the occassion. Hee hee! ;) If you'd like to follow along on my CHA adventure, you can do so via my instagram @amandarosezamp. I'll see you there and happy weekend!
