Did I lose a job or gain my freedom?

By Nerissa Hosein. At the end of last year, I was fired from my job after a disastrous confrontation with my boss. When the argument was over I was shaking with anger and resentment. I immediately took my car keys and left and went for a drive. After four years in a dead end position with no room for improvement, I was done. I went for a drive to cool my head and I allowed myself to take in what had just happened. I found myself asking what really happened? Did I lose a job or did I gain my freedom? Did I lose a secure source of income or did I just refuse not to settle for breadcrumbs?

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Gained freedom

You know what? I decided that I had just freed myself from a stone that had been holding me down for the past four years. It was crushing my soul day by day and giving my wings no room to fly.

Giving up our hopes and dreams

How many of us are stuck somewhere we don’t want to be? How many of us settle in life for something that is beneath our potential just to pay the bills? I thought about my life and now I have no idea how I allowed myself to be put in such a position by people who never cared about my well-being. Too often, we give up our hopes and dreams just because society says it’s what we need to do. But, I no longer believe you have to settle.

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Work is hard to get, but don’t settle

I know many of us have no choice, as I didn’t have one either. Work in Trinidad is hard to get for most people in this day and age. But, that does not mean you settle for a position where you are treated like less than what you are, discriminated against, or underpaid just to have a job. There are laws set up to avoid that but too often, workers are afraid to stand up for fear of being fired or victimized. But if we don’t stand up for ourselves, no one else will.

Free to pursue my own path

For me, being fired was the best thing ever. It gave me the freedom to pursue my own path. It helped me to pick up my head and realize I am worth more. I don’t need to be weak and submissive to get a few dollars. My husband helped me realize that I was strong enough to be on my own. I had allowed people who had no value for me to paint me into a corner where my talent was not valued at all. If you as a person don’t value yourself, then no one else will.

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Feeling positive about my future

It’s been a few months later, and I am happier than I have been in years. My family has rallied around and helped me find some new sources of income. I may even do some studying, now that both my kids are at school. Slowly, I am starting to remember that I am good at many things and I feel positive about my future. I don’t wake up feeling depressed or nervous to face my day.

Being fired forced me to stand up and see my value, something I had lost sight of a long time ago. I remembered the old saying when one door closes another one opens. That’s certainly true in my case. So, the next time something bad happens, take a look at it carefully before you break down, it may just be the best thing that ever happened to you!

February 2017 www.sweettntmagazine.com