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Kristy: How I Changed Careers in the Middle of the Pandemic

Kristy Papas

My name is Kristy and my story is a work in progress. I'm a dual citizen, Australia and Canada, residing in Vancouver, BC for over a decade now. I came to Canada because of my love of travel and the need for a new adventure. I stayed because I couldn't make myself leave. Thankfully, Canada let me stay, not without some effort on my part.

The roots have been planted too deep. The Vancouver landscape is breathtaking.

It was here that I fell into a payroll career. After knowing for quite sometime that I was in the wrong career, I chose the middle of a global pandemic, in my late thirties, to try to make a change once and for all. I couldn’t delay it any longer so I quit my job. I said goodbye to financial security and certainty. From there, I spent the latter half of 2020 exploring and experimenting creatively; a seed that was planted through doing some career coaching. This was a side of myself that I had never really entertained before. I dove in and followed the breadcrumbs, which brought me to the world of food photography and stop motion. I've always loved to bake. I think I got the bug from my grandma and all the time spent at her house when I was a kid concocting up some treat or doing a craft project. I love to take photos too. I have thousands on my phone and purchased an entry level DSLR camera earlier this year. Stop motion was new to me, but I took a shine to it quickly.

I never in a million years thought I could lead a life of creativity until I took my jump. It has been a steep learning curve. I am still trying to figure out how to turn my creativity into a living.

All this said, I have not looked back once. There is a new fire in me and it burns brightly.

Also, there has been an added bonus in all of this. Exploring creative avenues has given me the capacity to deal with living by myself during a global pandemic much better than I would have done without the passion and purpose I now have.


A mere two and a half months after deciding what I wanted to commit to as a career, I am planning to launch a website www.kristypapas.com. I will be offering food photography, stop motion animation, product photography and recipe development services. I may not be limited only to these areas. I can also be found over on Instagram @bakingbykristy.


This is an exciting and scary step for me to be taking, but if not now then when. If the craziness of the past year or so has taught me anything, it is that life is too short to not be doing something that fulfills me, has purpose and adds value to others.

- Kristy Papas


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