Personal Growth
Job Search, Menopause, & a Purple Popsicle

Taking care of myself during my job search is just as important as the search itself. That’s something I’ve had to remind myself of again and again—and only recently has it truly sunk in.

During menopause, I discovered I had food allergies. Surprise! I had no idea. Soy, in particular, became the enemy. Every time I ate something with soy, I’d get these massive, bed-all-day kind of headaches. But I still had to look for a job, and let’s just say, applying for positions while your head feels like it’s hosting a rock concert isn’t ideal.

When I finally realized it was food allergies causing the headaches, I knew I had to make a shift. I had to take better care of myself if I was going to show up fully for the job hunt.

One weekend, while sitting in my pajamas with my hair doing its own thing, I decided to unwind with a movie. Of course, I had a book in hand too—because apparently, I can’t just watch TV like a normal person. This book, which I’ve been trying to track down for years, talked about sending out vibes into the Universe and letting the Universe respond. The author gave this example: they wanted to see a red tomato. Lo and behold, while driving to work, they saw a red tomato on the side of a truck.

Naturally, I thought, “Let me try this.” So, with a laugh, I said, “Universe, show me a purple popsicle.” I wasn’t expecting anything—I mean, come on, I live in an apartment. No tomato trucks here.

But I flipped through the channels because there was absolutely nothing on, and what do I see? On a random music channel: a dancing purple popsicle. I kid you not. It was so bizarre that I actually questioned whether it even happened. Like, did I dream that? Did I imagine it? Still, I was intrigued. So I kept experimenting.

Later in that same book, there was a story about a woman who would frequent a bookstore where one of the workers—an older man—was always grumpy. She started sending him good vibes every time she visited. One day, she walked in, and he greeted her like an old friend. That got me thinking.

There was a young man I worked with who never spoke to me. We were on the same project, but he always seemed annoyed when I asked him anything. So I decided, each time I walked by his desk—whether to grab lunch or go to the restroom—I would quietly say to myself, “I like so-and-so.” I did this every time he crossed my mind too.

One day, as I was heading back to my desk at the end of the day, he looked up from his computer and gave me the biggest smile and said, “Have a good evening.” Or something like that—I was so shocked, I barely remember the words. Ever since then, I’ve been curious about vibes, energy, and the power of speaking things into existence.