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I love my job.

I’m not quite sure how many people can genuinely say they love their job, but I am 1000% certain that I mean it. Being a brand ambassador for a cannabis start up is a roller coaster, but it truly is a rewarding job when you start to fully embrace the role. Personally, I simply like meeting new people and hearing about their lives. I think that is one major reason I always did extraordinarily well in the restaurant industry, I genuinely wanted to learn about the people I took care of.

Were all of them great?

Nope.

But I still learned something about them!

So while I never initially envisioned myself as a traveling cannabis brand ambassador in my early years, I am beyond elated that I found my way to it. I enjoy not being confined to one given space all day, meeting new people regularly, being able to utilize my personality rather than conform to a company norm of behavior, wear all my cute outfits, and most of all… that it’s basically an independent job. Most of my co-workers run operations in the office while I get to present the brand on the road each day. We communicate regularly and stay on the same page, I just don’t have someone physically next to me all day and I love that a whole fucking lot! Since my job is so people forward, my time alone is sacred- even if it is just for 30 minutes to a hour while I drive to my next pop. I also carry that into how I spend my time while traveling for work. After the work day ends I will always treat myself to a yummy meal at one of the local spots of wherever I am visiting, but then I go back to the sanctuary I turned my hotel room into and decompress. It took me awhile to get comfortable sleeping in hotels so often, but now that I have I am more equipped to help anchor myself from a long day even if it isn’t at home.

I am quite proud of myself though because this is my second brand ambassador role in the cannabis industry and I am way more organized with myself this time than I was before… especially with my car!

As an ambassador, I basically live in my car.

I strive to keep my car clean, organized, and stocked with my most needed items for the day to day. This can be a little tricky though pending the season, but for the most part I have figured out what kind of snacks to keep in the car, have my empty gallon jug on hand to refill at dispos so I don’t have to buy water if I run out on the road, each compartment of the car has a purpose, and necessary items (car freshner/wipes, tissue, napkins, lighters, charging cords) all have a home.

I also love that I am staying hip on all the local spots for the towns I visit. It could honestly be in regard to anything- local musicians or artists, where to eat, where to shop for the best thrifted finds, what the people are into, the culture of the town, the lore, the drama, ALL OF IT! Finding a quality thrift store or flea market is usually the apex to my out of town trips because who doesn’t love finding new treasures in a town you don’t live in? I have found some of my favorite wardrobe pieces and kitchen ware from flea markets while on these trips, to which I thanked my local budtenders enormously (usually with snacks) for the heads up.

I also just love the small town drama.

It’s just like living in an episode of a reality tv show, except it’s real life and I have a deeper appreciation for the tangled webs humans weave! I thank the heavens for the gift of bartender hearing; I may not have been behind a bar in three years, but the ability to hone in on multiple conversations at once is as sharp as ever. I don’t mean to eavesdrop, truly. It just sort of happens while I’m waiting for my to-go food to finish or while I’m waiting in line at the hotel or out venturing the local shops. Buzz words are said and suddenly I’m listening to that hour’s hottest stories. Why would I ever pay for entertainment when it is truly that easy to stumble across on the road?!

Recently, I regained the central Missouri territory for pops within our company- meaning my region now spans from central Missouri to the southern border of the state. It’s a lot of land to cover, however I am quite thrilled to be back in the Columbia and Jefferson City area. I have never really spent time in either place so I always feel like I am learning and seeing something new every time I visit. Also, the capitol building in Jeff City reminds me a lot of the Acropolis of Athens. There’s something sus about that building and I want to know what it is!! I’m hoping one of these trips I get an extra day so I can visit the capitol and take a look around myself. There are also just a lot of historic buildings and homes in general when I drive from home up to central Missouri. I am a lover of such fixtures and endlessly curious about the people who fill these spaces. It’s probably because there is so much fucking history in the world and I am craving to know as much of it as I can. Especially the spooky, abandoned looking strips that go on for a short while or why there’s a Rockefeller restaurant out this way.

I never take walking into another community’s way of life lightly; community in itself is sacred that way. Even if the township and people within it are worlds different than me, I still want to be kind and polite because I still want to learn and understand who they are as a collective as well as the individuals I happen across along the way.

They broaden my perspective and that is something I will always be grateful for.

Just like my job that keeps me adventuring and finding new reasons to fall in love with life!