A New Chapter
At the start of the year, I wrote Looking Back At 2023 about my less-than-fun year. Well, I’m happy to report that in February, only two months into the new year, things took a turn with the job hunt. Back in December, I shifted my expectations and reset my job alerts with Indeed for case management positions instead of being so stubborn with only looking for writing jobs. I wanted to get my resume noticed with my twelve years of experience in that field and applied to any agency where I could do something different. I was excited when a local agency I was familiar with had two open positions in their Mental Health program. I had never worked in the Mental Health department because of their difficult billing standards, being on call, and handling crisis situations (in an emergency, I go into panic mode), but I was desperate for a change and applied. I was really excited when I was contacted for an interview in January, which went really well, and I got a second interview to meet the supervisor. That meeting went well, too, but I had some reservations about the job duties that honestly kept me up one night. Even so, I was still determined to accept the offer when it came.
Right before my first interview with this company, I had a vivid dream of a lion prowling in my backyard—a backyard that, in my dream, was more of a jungle. The lion was trying to come into my house, and I remember its huge paw in the window pane of the back door. When I woke up, I googled what a lion in a dream meant and found this explanation: “Lions can indicate manifestation, embracing assertiveness and taking charge of situations…Seeing a lion often symbolizes facing challenges and the need to harness your inner strength and power to overcome them.” The words rang true because I’d been aggressively going after what I wanted, a new job, so I felt the dream was a bit of a premonition. I felt proud. Shortly after my dream, I had those really successful interviews for the Mental Health case manager position, and I was confident the job was mine. What felt weird, though, was how long it took to get an email with the offer or even a response after I had emailed them about how much I needed to get paid to consider the position.
A week later, I received an email from the company informing me they were not moving forward with my application. I was disappointed because it meant my job hunt continued, and I wasn’t leaving my current job yet. I shed some tears and felt the lion appearing in my dream wasn’t as significant as I had imagined. That made me a little angry and confused with the universe’s mixed signals. After talking to my husband, he reminded me that all the rejection meant was that that job wasn’t for me and there something better was coming. I knew he was right because I wasn’t happy about some aspects of the job and was forcing myself to be okay with it. But it was a lesson that I shouldn’t do that. I needed to be careful with what I accepted in my life. Just because I knew it was time to leave one place didn’t mean I could just go anywhere. I still had that lion in me to go after what I wanted and manifest my visions. So, I dove back into my job alerts, scrolling through notifications and checking out whatever looked appealing and like something I would want to do. I had a list of things I needed from a new employer; being picky helped narrow my options. Thankfully, I was able to apply to a lot of places and felt comfortable with my choices.
During the second week of February, an HR representative from one of the companies I applied to reached out to me, and we scheduled an interview. I was happy and prepared for the call by having all of my questions ready. I was going to be more cautious this time. If there was anything I didn’t like, I would move on to something else. This was just as much an interview for me as it was for them; I needed to be certain I would be happy performing their duties. The informal call went well, and we scheduled the next interview with the supervisor. I looked forward to it because I felt really good about this job as it was fully remote and flexible (two main things I didn’t want to lose changing companies), and the contact standards were very different, so I’d have fewer face-to-face requirements. There wasn’t anything I was nervous about; I was just relieved that I had potentially found something better. On Valentine’s Day, we met on Zoom, and I was satisfied with their responses to my questions. I was only a little nervous if I had left a good impression, but my worry didn’t last long. Immediately after the meeting, I was offered the job and accepted. I couldn’t believe that not getting the other job, where I would’ve had tougher days, was a huge blessing in disguise. Finally finding a new job felt good because it meant I could make a change happen as long as I was relentless in the chase. My therapist reacted to the news by calling it a new chapter. I agree.
I started my new job at the beginning of March. I’m still in the training and shadowing phase, but I’ve been enjoying what I’m learning. It’s been a major positive shift to be in a new environment with different daily tasks. Now that I can scratch get-a-new-job off my checklist, I have space to think about other things I want to work on, like instilling an exercise regime to get in shape. I’m the least sporty, athletic, outdoorsy type, so I’m not at all used to sweating, which is why it’s so important I start getting physical. When I was younger, there were periods when I would exercise, but it’s been a very long time since I had a consistent workout routine. It’s kind of hard to fit in the gym time when you work and have a kid but I know I need to begin focusing on my physical health for my all-around well-being. So, I started slow and set my alarm for 5:30 a.m. so I can jump on the elliptical before I have to wake my son at 6:00. I bought a five-pound kettlebell and learned some exercises I could do with it. Waking up extra early when I’d rather sleep isn’t fun or easy, but even starting small with a good fifteen minutes of cardio in the morning makes me feel better later in the day. Overall, these past few months have been life-changing because it was a message to my brain that there are possibilities, which has made me believe in myself. I’ve felt lighter than I have in some time like I have more control over my life, and I’m grateful it only took resetting my expectations to see results. I’m looking forward to this year, and with all the positive changes happening, I would call this new chapter of my life: Transformation.