Hi friends! I’m sorry for the lack of posts for the last couple of weeks. My creativity seems to have dried up a little and although I’ve had plenty of things to share with you, I simply haven’t been able to find the time, or the headspace to get them down onto the page.
About three weeks ago now I found out that I was being made redundant from a company I’ve been working for for almost six months. It shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise seeing as two thirds of our team had already had their jobs axed, but honestly, it was gutting. We were still reeling from the news about our wonderful colleagues and starting to put the plans together to forge ahead as a team of three when we found out that we were no longer safe either.
This is the first time in my professional career that I’ve been made redundant and I still don’t really know how to take it. On the one hand it’s a relief, I think I’d reached a point where I just wasn’t being challenged enough and I was growing tired of it, but on the other, I’m mourning the loss of potential and all the great things I had planned to do there. But, no matter. When one door closes, another will open. And, since practically all of our marketing plans were scrambled, it’s really given me some time to think about what I want for myself going forward.
It didn’t take me long to do some research and I quickly and enthusiastically booked myself onto an Introduction to Counselling Course, starting in January and I can’t wait to get started. But it’s going to take me about four years to retrain if this is something I want to pursue and that means I’ll need to find another job to pay the bills.
The job market is a frightening place to be right now. Nearly every day I’m hearing about more and more of my peers being made redundant from their marketing roles, and whilst there are plenty of jobs out there, there are so many talented people who are in the same boat. Feeling a little shocked and lost, with no sense of security going into arguably the most expensive time of year. It’s a tough pill to swallow, and my not-good-enough goblin and fear-of-rejection gnome have been thoroughly enjoying the festivities.
But I won’t be intimidated by them, and I’ve been busy applying for roles and talking to recruiters and doing interviews. It’s exhausting, having to be ‘on’ all the time. To repeat your experience and accomplishments over and over again, to strike that balance between enthusiasm and desperation in the hope that you are exactly what they are looking for. It’s like being in a pageant competition I never signed up for.
I’m staying positive, though, and I’m trusting that the right thing is going to come up at just the right time. It always does. I feel that with the universe perhaps slightly placated with my intention to become a counsellor, and small, tentative steps taken on that journey, I have fallen into a bit of a lull. Another pause where I’m (im)patiently waiting for the next thing. But I am reminded that this time of year is the time to slow down and rest, and I’m doing my best to honour that.
In other news, here’s a small snapshot of what happened last weekend… In my last post, I talked about my fear of competing and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. Well, we did it! And unsurprisingly I loved it and can’t wait to get out and do it all over again. Skye was an absolute star, she looked totally stunning thanks to our wonderful yard manager and she behaved impeccably. I honestly couldn’t be more proud of her.
It was a long day, but one that I’m still buzzing from, and I’m thrilled that we came away from our very first outing with a rosette! Third place in our ridden coloured class. I had gone in with no expectations and just wanted to ease us both into this new world of showing and I think I can now say that we can 100% handle anything that gets thrown at us… Roll on 2024!