The Funeral
Today was one of the most memorable days of my life. After two and a half great years, I was unfortunately laid off by USA TODAY. You will hear no anger towards the company. I was hired with limited work experience at age 20 and given an opportunity. I feel extremely grateful to have worked for such a great company. Unfortunately, the economy has very much hurt the company I grew to love and respect and I was let go. It was as if I was at my own funeral today as almost single file, my co-workers gathered for hugs, a few tears from the women in the office, and words of encouragement. After a quick lunch, I gathered my things in a box, turned in my stuff, and walked out of the office for the last time. In a way it was like I was at a funeral. A big part of my life died. In a moment of my life where I am full of uncertaintity and doubt, work was one of my constants. One of the first questions I was asked today was, "What are you going to do?" My simple answer is that I have no idea. Some have suggested I take time off. Other have suggested I work on my resume and cover letter as soon as tonight. Some have suggested I travel. Others have said they will call sources tonight about potential employment possibilities. Grad school? We will see my friends. To be honest, I am still so stunned. None of this has sunk in yet. But I do want to spend a second to thank all of you who wrote me very nice emails. I want to thank those that took time to call. Your friendship is, and always has been, an extremely important part of my life. It is now that I will just pray to our good Lord that as he closes one door her shows me other doors that I may humbly walk through with his good grace. I'm sure more will follow as this chapter of my life has ended.
1. After celebrating by going to a restaurant and purposely ordering the most unhealthy thing on the menu, I rented the movie The Dark Knight. I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said or written. The movie is awesome, the acting is fantastic, and I want to know when the next Batman movie is coming out!
2. Currently listening to "Because" by The Beatles. Album: Abbey Road.
posted by cyclonejohn @ 9:13 PM
3 Comments:
for a positive spin on things....
could this mean the stars are aligning for you to finally make that move to Chicago?
Hey John...I'm really sorry to hear the bad news. Having never been through that kind of situation myself, any constructive advice that I can provide is sorely limited. What I do know, however, is that you're an exceptionally talented guy, and I have no doubt that you will be successful in whatever you choose to do next. I also definitely want to take this opportunity to remind you to truly keep ALL of your options open. You're in a somewhat unique position right now in that you can go in virtually any direction you want...and, in a way, that must be a very liberating feeling. You're still young, you're not irrevocably tied down to any specific geographic location, and, most importantly, you've got some very valuable work experience under your belt.
One thing I will say, though, is that if grad school is something you KNOW you want to do eventually anyway...then think very carefully about getting it over with sooner rather than later. Reason #1 is, obviously, the sooner you do it, the sooner you are able to earn the rewards of that degree. But Reason #2 is the very real fact that the older you are, the harder it is to go back to school. I was only three years removed from getting my undergraduate degree, and even then it was hard enough to start in on a masters...and that would have been compounded exponentially had I been married, had kids, was trying to pay a mortgage, etc. This is not to say that you can't or shouldn't wait longer...lots of people do it, most successfully...but grad school really does become more difficult the longer you put it off. Just ask your Dad.
Anyway, take a few days to let this all sink in, relax, rent some good DVDs, enjoy the holidays, and then regroup after that. Something good will happen for you very soon, of that I am confident. See you in a couple weeks.
I know I'm a little late (I did read this a few days ago), but I am sorry to hear about this. Sorry because that sucks you're out of a job, and sorry that I have a worthless degree related to this dying newspaper industry.
Whatever you do, though, I think one thing should be certain: get the hell out of Minnesota! It's very liberating to escape that place (though maybe it was liberating to escape the entire country/culture). Maybe you could try that, as well.
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