Can you believe that the unemployment rate jumped from 6.1 to 6.5 percent in October alone?! When the economy busted it’s back right tire, veered off the side of the highway, and crashed into a tree, I wasn’t affected. I remember having conversations with my friends and asking them, “Am I an idiot to go on a shopping spree when people are getting laid off and jumping off of buildings?” At the time, I was rolling in the dough and brand new shoes were more important than anything. My job situation was on lock and I had not a care in the world. Little did I know that as of November 26th, I would be… dun dun dun dun DUNNNNNN…UNEMPLOYED. So much for that dirty, old, rusty lock…

The minute that I got axed, I was in total shock. When my manager received her bad news, she cried. My director stormed off to HR and my co-worker couldn’t stop laughing. The moments after the bomb dropped on our department were a blur. (All but 4 of us were terminated.) I remember the co-workers who were ’safe’ walking softly over to our area and politely giving their condolences…which I recognized with a slight head nod. I couldn’t trust myself to speak. I didn’t know if I would start cursing, crying, or screaming. The air in our work area was so tense and thick, I had to walk away. I needed a moment.

When I came back, I found my co-workers in the same miserable state as when I left them. I’m not sure what happened to me during my brief stint outside on 50th street (maybe it was that fine behind man that walked by in his Tom Ford black suit… mmmmmm….), but my mood was on the up and up. When I watched the tears and the depression settle in on my co-worker’s faces, my heart broke for them. (By the time I returned, another department had been terminated.) When I was asked if I was sad as well, I seriously had to think about it. ”Why don’t I feel as bad as everyone looks,” I thought. My emotions clearly weren’t ironed out yet, but there was a reason I felt so much empathy for everyone else when I was obviously in the same position. Once I figured it out, I told them that while I’m sad to leave the people I’ve grown close to, I’m think I’m just… ready… ready for the future, ready to pursue my passions, and ready for a change. When I wrote my goals for the year, I decided that I would open a Roth IRA before the year was up, put together a photograpy portfolio and pen a couple of songs. I couldn’t help to think it was a coincidence that being terminated gives me the option to roll my 401(K) into a Roth, or that not having a job affords me plenty of time to attend photography school and write my little heart off. How timely!

There are so many opportunities out here for us. Of course, the economy is in the pits, and if you haven’t been laid off yourself, you probably know someone who has been. However, is there not a more perfect time to pursue the ideas/passions/desires of your heart?! How many times have you told yourself that you want to be an entrepreneur? Count the number of times you’ve talked badly about the plantation and slave drivers you work for! Didn’t you say that you wanted to go back to school? How could getting laid off be a bad thing?! Well, sure, your income might suffer temporarily but if you believe in God or a higher being, you must have faith that He will not leave you in the trenches! If He got you to where you are now, there is no reason why He won’t continue to stand by your side. During a taxicab confessions moment, my New York cabby (who also happens to be a licensed hypnotist - ha!) said, “You make the experience what you want it to be. If you want to turn it into a bad thing, you will. But if you want to look at it in the light, it’ll shine.” How true! I don’t mean to sound so corny, but there’s a light that shines out there for all of us. Walk towards the light people! Just walk towards the light!!! =)

I’m laid off! Now watch me work!

by j.a.c.