...being unemployed.
For the first time since I was 15, I don't have a job. It's terrifying. And while I'm not yet exactly sure where the money IS going to come from, I have decided that there are certain things I am NOT going to do as I'm faced with impending destitution.
1. I will not sit in my apartment all day every day. I will get out and meet people. I will go to auditions and classes and workshops just to network and have my face seen. And now that I have free time, I will take advantage of the thousands of free opportunities that D.C. offers me. (Did you know that the Kennedy Center has a free performance every day at 6 p.m. on their Millennium Stage? 365 days a year, and they don't ask for a penny.) There is so much to do and see in the city, and if I'm not working, I'm going to get up and do.
2. I will not run to my boyfriend's every time I feel nervous. I'm a big girl, and this was a big girl decision. Yes, it scares me sometimes, and I want to curl up and just feel safe. But I know I can handle the uncertainty of the unknown by myself, and that's what I'm going to do.
3. I will not relax and stop working. I don't need a job to keep working on myself professionally. I will read new plays, rehearse new monologues, and learn new songs. I will sing scales and do yoga. I will hone my skills so that I'm more prepared to go out and get jobs once they crop up.
4. I will not settle for a job I don't want or that's not worthwhile. I am not going to cave and start working as a Starbucks barista if I don't have to. And as B. Graham often says, "We deserve to get paid for the work we do." I am a professional, and I am going to be sure that I am treated as one.
5. I WILL NOT PANIC. I can do this.
Here's to the adventure.
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8 comments:
Amen
if you do sit in your apartment, do something useful like read a book, or plan a wedding. I did that last part for a while.
man we're trading lives. and yet all those things apply to me too....
#4 is a pretty crucial item. About the only thing as bad as being unemployed is being underemployed.
This reminds me of going to the gym every day while I was in Brooklyn just so I was doing something productive.
@Jstone Sounds lovely. Whose wedding should I plan? Any suggestions?
@B I wouldn't say my little restaurant job quite compares to your legit full-time job (with benefits!)
@Stevie B I'm so glad you think so! That's the tenet that I was a little worried about. I wasn't sure if the reaction would be, "You're unemployed; you need to take what you can get, missy!" I'd really like to work for what I WANT, and now seems to be the time to do it.
@Alex I went to a yoga class yesterday, and it was wonderful, if demoralizing. I want to get out and do more.
Great post. I can't encourage you enough to get and there and follow your dreams. The underemployed thing stings. I hate wasting 40 hours a week on a job that has me living paycheck to paycheck.
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