POV: You Just Got Called Into Your Boss’s Office to be Fired
Beads of sweat drip off your forehead as you take another slow step towards your manager, who has just beckoned you to step into her office. There was no google invite set for this meeting, no verbal arrangement to go over sales statistics in her office, and you find it gut-wrenching that the head or Human Resources is already sitting in there. You know what’s going to happen as you step closer to a room that looks more like a bottomless pit; your mind burning with the question: what was the final straw? You sit down in that cool, leather chair as your (ex)manager closes the door, and you can feel your heart sink as the door meets with the threshold. Both sit down in front of you and with only two words you went from having a 401K, health insurance, disposal income, and coworkers who you’ve bonded with (but will never meet outside the office) stripped away from you in a matter of seconds. You, my friend, just got fired.
But that’s okay, breathe, it happens to everyone. Though it feels like your emotions have completely shut down, as you throw your “Monday’s Suck” coffee mug into a box along with other things you accumulated over the past 11 months; everything will be okay. In many cases, losing a job is not the end of the world, and can be very positive for a person, given the circumstances. This isn’t the 1920’s where losing a job meant you needed to sell a kid in order to eat; this is 2019 and you are in your early 20’s, ready to take on the next obstacle!
So, You Just Got Fired
Granted, being fired can be a real blow to the ego as well as the wallet. The most important thing to do is to take the next couple of days for self-care. If you were let go on a Friday, make this weekend a “treat yo self” weekend. Invite friends and loved ones over to do face masks and drink wine, perhaps take some hours in the day to get some much-needed rest, after all you just got 40 hours of free time handed to you. And when Monday rolls around, don’t only start applying to jobs, but start applying in yourself as well. Do something you never had the free time to do when you were working for “the man.” Pick up that 1,000-page Steven King novel, learn to draw eyes that look exactly the same, and go do that dirty laundry that’s been sitting in the bedroom corner for the past month (it’s starting to stink). Whatever it is, take this opportunity to invest in you.
What I Did After
I recently got fired last Friday, and truth be told, it sucked. But after a long train ride home and a long talk with my mom, I knew what I had to do. The first thing I did was clean my entire house and invite some friends over. Just having a clean house and close friends around put me in an environment of positivity. As the weekend passed by, I did things that I typically never did on those two glorious days off. I didn’t drink a sip of alcohol (after all, it is a depressant), I spent time doing chores I was always too tired to do, and I saw some friends that I hadn’t seen in a while who were happy enough to lend an ear as I vented about being axed.
As Monday approached, I purposely DIDN’T set any alarms. I let my body wake up naturally around 9 or 10 AM, and went to the gym. I’d say going to the gym while everyone’s at work falls into the category of one of ‘life’s simple pleasures’ (next to clean sheets and fresh coffee). After the gym, I got all my things together and left my house. One thing I never want to lose is the feeling of coming back to my house after a long day (it just hits differently). I strolled over to the coffee shop, and for the next four hours, I sat there bumping Wu-Tang and applying to not one, not two, but 26 jobs!
As the weeks slowly went by, I took every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday to complete that routine. As for the other days, I used them to promote self-care, even if it was staying in bed to catch up on a Netflix series. I made sure that tiny gaps of free time were spent on me and that I was learning more about myself. You never release how much free time a job takes from you until you are let go.
It’s Going to be Okay
So, you just got fired? Well, that’s okay. Use this time wisely to improve upon yourself as well as your interests. Surround yourself with positivity and people that love you. And most importantly, DON’T GIVE UP!
