We are now at the midpoint of 2024, and there has been no shortage of travel and adventures this year. This leads to the first chapter of Part 40 in the book of Krystle, which is a pivotal turn of more life lessons.
Travel
I traveled to the United Kingdom for my first trip abroad. This trip planted a new desire to travel to other countries. I will say that once you leave your country of origin and experience different cultures, it can be pivotal and life-changing.
My family and I spent time in Bath, Avebury, Lacock, Castle Combe, Bristol, York, Whitby, Cambridge, Dover, and London. The towns are quite charming. We packed in quite a bit of travel into two weeks. I did love exploring the cities by foot through running and hiking. Not to mention, I did enjoy visiting local bakeries and trying new pastries that are not easily accessible in the United States.
Everything was quite lovely. I know that I am looking forward to planning another trip abroad in the future.
Adventures
I did not think my adventures in 2024 would include getting laid off from my job and navigating this difficult job market. As we all know, things do not go according to plan.
I plan and do not want to account for uncertainty. 2024 taught me a key lesson – always prepare for the unexpected.
In March, I found out that my position was being eliminated. Let’s just say this unexpected news left me in shock for the first month of unemployment. I scrambled to make sense of everything and went through the emotions that generally accompany such life-altering events. Job loss is much like the stages of grief, as Elisabeth Kubler-Ross defined – Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Granted, Kubler-Ross created the stages of grief as the ways of coping with death. Little did she think that these five stages would also apply to job loss as well.
Add Frustration
Let’s add Frustration to the mix, as I am struggling with a difficult job market. CNBC reports that those who are unemployed apply to a large number of jobs, only to be called in for a small number of interviews.
While I have been applying to lots of jobs and receiving interviews, I have not found a job yet. This job market is worse than the one I encountered when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree.
The Lesson
Patience is the lesson from the adventure of job loss. One of the things I am trying to remember – patience in this season may yield to an even more awesome adventure career wise. Basically, it is all about keeping the faith – especially when the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far away.