Memoir: Careers Pt.1
I started working part-time at a preschool center in 2007 (or was it 2008?). I needed a cash flow to help put myself through college. I liked it okay, but I didn't see it as a real viable career option.
I was 18 (or 19) and had no idea what I wanted or what I was good at.
I worked my way up the hierarchy ladder by being a hard worker and staying far away from the drama. I was eventually hired on full-time and flunked out of technical college for constantly skipping class. I loved being in a steady classroom with set hours.
Then, the recession of 2008 happened.
The preschool was hit hard and limped along for as long as it could. Then classrooms were closed. I was out of a job for a month. I applied to summer camps, bookstores, any where I could without so much as a call back. I remember taking a trip to visit my uncle in Florida for a week. That's when I got a phone call from my former boss.
"Erin, we need your help. Would you be willing to come back?"
I jumped at the chance to be employed again. Those next couple of years are a bit fuzzy. I don't remember much about the kids or the teachers I worked with. There was a rotating door of faceless, nameless co-workers. The school never gained back the same reputation it did before the recession. Hours were cut, workers were being let go. I wasn't making enough or getting enough hours, therefore, I made the decision to move on. Four years after my initial hire date, I turned in my resignation.
Jeff owned a small HVAC company. I'm not so sure what he saw in me, but he offered me a job handling the billing and submitting warranties. I respected him as a person and I learned a lot about myself working for him. He always seemed to know exactly how I was feeling as soon as he walked into the room. He was encouraging and kind. He taught me to offer grace to myself and to live my faith rather than preach it. I'm glad I worked for him and got to know him as a mentor, but I was unhappy working there. I missed moving toward a common goal with co-workers and having pride in my accomplishments. I was in the middle of a depression and I didn't realize it.
It was in that chilly, dusty office that I got the call about the death of my grandfather. It was June of 2013. That's the year everything changed.
I was 18 (or 19) and had no idea what I wanted or what I was good at.
I worked my way up the hierarchy ladder by being a hard worker and staying far away from the drama. I was eventually hired on full-time and flunked out of technical college for constantly skipping class. I loved being in a steady classroom with set hours.
Then, the recession of 2008 happened.
The preschool was hit hard and limped along for as long as it could. Then classrooms were closed. I was out of a job for a month. I applied to summer camps, bookstores, any where I could without so much as a call back. I remember taking a trip to visit my uncle in Florida for a week. That's when I got a phone call from my former boss.
"Erin, we need your help. Would you be willing to come back?"
I jumped at the chance to be employed again. Those next couple of years are a bit fuzzy. I don't remember much about the kids or the teachers I worked with. There was a rotating door of faceless, nameless co-workers. The school never gained back the same reputation it did before the recession. Hours were cut, workers were being let go. I wasn't making enough or getting enough hours, therefore, I made the decision to move on. Four years after my initial hire date, I turned in my resignation.
Jeff owned a small HVAC company. I'm not so sure what he saw in me, but he offered me a job handling the billing and submitting warranties. I respected him as a person and I learned a lot about myself working for him. He always seemed to know exactly how I was feeling as soon as he walked into the room. He was encouraging and kind. He taught me to offer grace to myself and to live my faith rather than preach it. I'm glad I worked for him and got to know him as a mentor, but I was unhappy working there. I missed moving toward a common goal with co-workers and having pride in my accomplishments. I was in the middle of a depression and I didn't realize it.
It was in that chilly, dusty office that I got the call about the death of my grandfather. It was June of 2013. That's the year everything changed.
