Losing Your Job Doesn't Mean Losing Yourself

I worry that the title of this post is a bit self-helpy, but let's all suck it up and deal with it. As many people know, I lost my job at the end of September. While I knew it was coming by the end of the year (as the work just wasn't coming in), it still rattled me. I'll tell you a secret -- when you lose your job, whether you were expecting it or not, it makes you feel like you failed. Like life had given you this test and than did a "Ninner ninner ninner! You suck!" right in your face. It was a wake up call that getting too comfortable in any one place is not an option.

I had worked as a legal assistant since the fall of 2009. It was something I had just fallen into, not my dream job by any stretch of the imagination. But, it paid the bills and bought me books, so I stayed with it. About a year and a half ago or so, the desire to get out started making itself known. I searched for jobs, in fields that I went to school for. With a BA in English and minor in Women's Studies, the pickings were slim. While many people think publishing is a dying art, I like to think that it's just reinventing itself. So many people ask, "What can you do with an English degree?" Well, you can do pretty much anything with one --- outside of cutting people open and you know, sending people to jail. Also, I couldn't be a mathematician. Numbers are the devil.

Losing your job allows you to really dig deep and figure out, okay--what do I really want to do? What speaks to me? What gets me up in the morning? Not many people are lucky enough to have their dream job, and I'm aware that settling for something right now that pays the bills is my best option, until Tom Hiddleston comes to whisk me away to London and a life of tea and cricket for the rest of my days. (Apparently, I think England is just a constant Dickens novel). 

Surprisingly, I've been able to maintain a positive attitude with everything. There have been days where I feel like I failed. Days where I feel worthless and like I'm not a productive, contributing member of society. But, those days are few and far between. Things happen for a reason. The right job for me is out there, I just need to find it. Maybe it isn't around here -- maybe it's in New York, or Chicago, Boston or Timbuktu. My point is, if you find yourself at a crossroads, the important thing is to maintain a sense of who you are. You know your worth, your skills, your drive and ambition. Don't let shit weigh you down. And look, it's hard out there. It SUCKS. Massively. Royally. But, this did get me out of my comfort zone and routine, and I'm surprisingly grateful for it. Who knows how much longer I would have stayed had I not been let go. I would have gotten increasingly unhappier by the day and no one likes a sad sack Sally. 

Also, does anyone know --- including a Glamour Shot with your resume works, right? Early '90s style? Great, I thought so. And also telling them how witty and charming I am works as well? Whew. Than my resume is ready to go! ;)