We have all experienced it, looking back on a period of your life, and it feels like you're watching a movie about someone else's life. Well, today's movie is about one of those life-changing events. Four years ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was laid off, one of thousands who became COVID statistics in some way or another. It might sound a bit dramatic, big deal -- find another job and move on. It might be that way for some, but for the majority of people it has happened to, it is one big shock to the system.

Are there actually positives of getting laid off?

— Ong (@OngDevLab) March 29, 2024

I had spent most of my adult life in healthcare, more specifically as a pharmacy technician. I had watched this field grow from one where technicians were not taken very seriously, to one where those working in the field had to be licensed, and mandatory certification completed with continuing education requirements was also becoming standard. I never got rich, but I did okay. But then COVID hit, and it hit everyone hard. There began to be rumors of furloughs and layoffs, which seemed kind of ironic as I passed the "Heroes Work Here" sign every day when I got to work. 

Now I find it a little weird that I can remember that day as if it were yesterday, but I do. As soon as I was called into a conference room, I knew what was up. There, the Pharmacy Director and some nondescript Human Resources robot took my badge, apologized, thanked me for my hard work, and showed me the door. As I walked through the lobby toward the parking lot my first thoughts were, "Well, guess I don't have to work this weekend," and thinking ahead, "Guess I don't have to work Memorial Day." That part of it made me smile.

I spent the next hour sitting in my car, where the breakdown came, and phoned my husband. I got home, sat down on the couch, and just sat. What was I going to do now? My case may have been a bit different than most; I was in school, hoping to be on my way to a new career (at 55) in journalism. But let's face it, we all have bills to pay. Like millions of other Americans, I was working full-time and going to school part-time. 

It’s official. My furloughed job has transitioned into being laid off. I wonder if people still realize how much people are struggling financially because of COVID-19?

— Stephanie Whisenton 🏳️‍🌈🐳 (@StephTennille) June 9, 2020

In addition to schoolwork, the next few weeks were filled with filling out unemployment applications, filling out job apps, and because I was still in school, maybe being able to find a paid internship. But what they don't tell you is that unemployment is also a lifestyle change. We all know that in the best of times, sitting around in your PJs all day isn't healthy, and it is even more unhealthy without a job. So I made sure not to do it. But included in that lifestyle change was the fact that I had been working since I was 17 years old -- I had never been unemployed. It might sound funny, but I didn't know how to do it. I also felt guilty that my husband was shouldering all the financial responsibility.  

Fast forward. Here we are, four years removed from that day. I join millions of others who will say that getting that pink slip was the best thing that ever happened to me. I can talk about the practical part of it, that I was able to concentrate on school and graduate, I can include the mandatory cliché that when one door closes another one opens. I can tell you all about learning things about yourself, like a positive attitude, not letting your situation get the better of you, and except for a bit of unemployment, not relying on the government to help you. But beyond that, realizing nowhere else on the planet do the citizens of a country, if they are willing to work hard, have the opportunity to move as relatively easily to another career as in America. All Americans are blessed because we are in charge of our individual paths, not the government, and not the circumstances of our birth. We don't have to work at a job just to pay our bills, we can follow our dreams and work at what we love. 

One more cliché alert: if someone had told me four years ago how very different life would be, and that I would have a career that yeah, I worked for, but that I absolutely adore, I don't know that I would have believed it. Getting laid off sucks, but who knew the reward could be so great. Only in America. 

Today marks 4 months since I was laid off from my job. While my job prospects remain virtually 0, I know I’ll bounce back once things are safer. I know many others have lost their jobs too, and I think about you all everyday and pray you all may find work soon. We will persevere.

— Brad Carney (@The__Carnival) May 22, 2020