Brighten Your Day

After a failed marriage, the loss of all of my friends, depression, opioid, sleeping pill, and alcohol addiction, not working for four years, and sending out over 200 resumes in the last five months - - today I got a $60,000/year job in my field of a study.

Today is a good day.

I always make a wish when the clock strikes 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55, or 11:11. I alternate between two wishes and two wishes only: 1) Please let me be happy, and, 2) Please let me get a job I love.

I'd been in the running for this job for one and a half months, they received 140 applications, interviewed 20, and it was down to me and one other person.

But I got a call from them three days ago, saying they had decided to move forward with the other candidate. I thanked them for the opportunity, they wished me luck in my future, and I spent the entire day crying.

Then yesteday the woman who would have been my boss added me to LinkedIn, which I found odd. "Rub the salt in a little deeper," I told my dad.

Well, one hour ago my would-be boss called, and said she and the HR manager who initially interviewed me couldn't get me off of their mind because of my enthusiasm, attitude, and the excitement I couldn't contain.

She told me the president of the company initially hired the other candidate because they were fluent in a particular software program, one of which I am only slightly familiar with. The president is old school and isn't one for risk taking, so he went with the safe bet.

The woman told me she went to bat for me with the president these last couple of days because she believed I was the one the company needed. She said she will take the extra time to train me, and she believes I'm resourceful enough to learn it on my own if she's unable to help me some days due to her being busy, sick, or traveling for work.

I almost cried, I told her how much this means to me, and that even though I was missing a few of the skills required, skills can be taught but attitude and enthusiasm cannot.

They also told me that I was the only person out of 20 interviews who emailed them afterward and said thank you for the opportunity of meeting with me. The ONLY person.

I changed my entire life when I left my marriage. It got worse before it got better. I've had some very hard truths to face, I've had to reevaluate who I am, what I want my life to look like, and reprioritize the things that matter to me.

It's been a rocky few years, but those little sunshine rays are finally touching me.