Fried Chicken and Careers...
January 16th 2010 I left Delaware, Ohio to take my first cruise ever. For one week I was care free and clear headed. I saw a world that until that week I had only seen on postcards and in movies. Fast forward to the end of that week and you will find me heading into work that monday morning with a tan and a HUGE smile on my face. I told every person that walked by me or even gave me a hint that they were listening an earful about the world of the eastern carribean that can satisfy a person’s soul if ever given the chance. Life was as good, and as simple as it had been in over a year.
Today I sit and apply for jobs everyday from 8-3 monday through friday. This is my job. My job is to find a job. That was not in my plans when I came back to the united states that saturday night. I am now a statistic being reported across national headlines. When they talk about unemployment rising in Ohio, I added to it. The career that I had given so many hours to over the past year came to it’s conclusion. It ended with a 4 minute meeting in a conference room. The items that surrounded me in my cubicle for years were placed in a box and handed to me as I was escorted out of the building, typical to protocol.
The definition of career is put as this:.
1. A chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation.
2. The general course or progression of one’s working life or one’s professional achievements
Ever since I got my head on straight a few years ago I had considered my “career” to be that of one in banking. Bankers after all, dress well and are held in respect for the most part when it comes to a community that they serve in, right? I started in banking in Grandview, Ohio. For two years I built relationships that to this day I look back on and smile at the time spent there. Then it was on to retail banking support through the corporate path. Once again, in my head it is respected when you can say “I drive to a corporate office building and work in corporate america.”
As I apply for the jobs during the week I continually ask myself the same thing. “Am I supposed to be in corporate america?”
I thrive at every job I get. I am successful. People like me. I work great in teams. I am productive. I can motivate people.
I called myself a martyr the other day when describing what happened to me with my job. This was completely the wrong word to try and use in the context that I was trying to use it in. I was basically trying to say that I was being used as an example to others when it comes to the envirionment we work in with hiring and firing. It was brought to my attention what the definition of a martyr is. Here is the second definition for you, the reader today:
1 : a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion
2 : a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle
A person who sacrifices something of great value and especially LIFE itself? I live life a whole lot safer than this. Seriously. My whole purpose for a “career” is to provide stability and income to my family. I guess what I am saying is that I wish I was a martyr for something. Something huge. I am afraid though that if I go that route, it isn’t going to provide and income or insurance that my wife needs.
I guess what I am really trying to say is that I love fried chicken. A lot. More than I should. I also hope I am doing the right thing with my “career” and everything that is encompassed under that umbrella.
Here’s to coming up with principles that last a lifetime and figuring out where I came up with the idea that my career has to meet the world’s standards.
keep praying for me.
peace.
