I Was Exhausted By My 9-5 So I Left It To Pursue The Farm Life

I used to work in hospitality because I loved meeting people.

But these same people became the very reason I started dreading to go to work.

As a customer service executive, I often spent hours dealing with guests who looked down on me and directed insults my way. They would complain over the smallest and silliest things – the pool water was “too cold”, the view wasn’t what they had imagined (because they booked the wrong room), or the free coffee sachets weren’t the brand they preferred. One guest even complained that there were other people in the gym while she was there, and she prefers to work out alone.

By the end of each shift, I felt spent.

My commute to work was also exhausting. I’d drag myself out of bed at 5.00 am, half asleep, just to beat the morning rush. By 6.00 am, I was out the door, squeezing into packed trains and buses, racing to reach the office by 7.30 or 7.45 for my 8.00 am shift.

By the time I sat down at my desk, I felt like I’d already burned through all my energy – and then the customers create a new set of tasks for me to do.

When I got home, I rarely had the energy to cook a proper meal. I’d make instant noodles or just opt for bread with margarine. I was too tired to care.

While I ate, I’d scroll through videos of people tending to gardens and harvesting vegetables, while breathing in fresh air. They looked so calm and grounded. I envied them. I wondered what it would be like to live a life that didn’t involve so much stress.

Then, when I was at work one day, something happened. I was sitting at my desk when out of nowhere, my heart started pounding fast and hard. My chest felt tight and I started sweating, although I felt cold. I think I was having a panic attack. It lasted for maybe three minutes, but it felt like forever. The strange part was that nobody noticed. I was surrounded by people, but I felt completely alone.

That night, I realised something had to change – I needed to overhaul my life. My mind kept returning to those garden videos, that quiet and simple life.

“I can do farming,” I thought. But it sounded ridiculous, even to me. After all, I had no agriculture background. No experience, nothing! But the idea stuck, and eventually, it became the only thing that I thought about.

I reached out to friends, asked around, and started applying for trainee positions. Most people told me I was crazy for wanting to leave a stable job, even if it was stressful. But I kept searching. And then, months later, I got an unexpected email: a hydroponic farm was willing to give me a chance.

I submitted my resignation letter the same day.

I was a complete beginner, so I had to learn everything from scratch – how to plant and propagate vegetables, mix nutrients, monitor growth, harvest, and clean equipment properly. I was sore and exhausted every day. Nothing came naturally.

But this was a different kind of tiring. Even though the work was physically exhausting, my mind didn’t feel as heavy. I wasn’t “on” all the time and didn’t have to force a smile. Instead, I was surrounded by plants and felt an incredible sense of pride when I saw tiny seeds I had planted start to grow. It was strangely grounding.

And the people were different too. Because I lived quite far from the farm, they let me stay there for free during the weekdays. That way, I only had to travel home on Fridays and back again on Mondays. We also got staff meals made with the “rejected” organic veggies (they just looked ugly but were not spoilt).

Plus, no one cared about my experience, or lack thereof. They were patient and would explain things twice if I didn’t get it the first time. More importantly, they corrected me without making me feel stupid or bad about myself.

While I’m still unsure if this is the right path for me long-term, as the pay is rather low, it is what I need right now.

Because for the first time in years, my mind feels at ease, and I don’t dread waking up in the mornings anymore.

This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and genuine real accounts from people.