On March 12, 2019, I felt the sting of a door slamming directly in my face. After six months in a role with an organization where I felt a bit like a hamster on a wheel, working hard but unable to get the traction I needed, I was laid off upon the business realizing that they needed a very different skill set in the role.

I was devastated.

Losing your job fucking sucks. Period. The end.

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Everyone says nice things and even though the Employee Assistance Program is still available to you for six weeks in case you’re struggling, you feel isolated and alone and like no one can possibly understand how upside down your world has become. People say things like, It’s their loss!, or They’ll be sorry!, or… my personal favourite…

You know what they say – when one door closes, another opens.

I wanted to believe there was another door. I eagerly applied for jobs, showed up for interviews, dove through hoops, did spec work and tests and contacted references. I did it more times than I want to tell you about. More times than I want to admit. I made it to the final round only to be told the company went in a different direction, I began to feel like there wasn’t a door for me.

So I made my own.

I’d started freelancing in the spring of last year and it was OK. I had a lot of “no thanks” responses, but I landed a bit of work that kept me busy. And then it exploded. November and December were so busy, I was dying for the Christmas break. January and February turned out to be the same. But then an opportunity floated by and I decided to knock on that door.

In a week, I’ll officially walk through it.

Six or eight months ago, when a company turned me down, it hurt. But there’s another saying I heard often last year, a saying that has proven itself to be true.

It’s better to wait for the right opportunity than rush into the wrong one.

And, of course,

Realize that if a door closed, it’s because what was behind it wasn’t meant for you. (Mandy Hale)

and…

“…everything happens for a reason, even if we are not wise enough to see it.”— Oprah Winfrey“

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