#needanewcareer

[invadersasylum]

#FML #Shitjustgotreal #work #needanewcareer! 😫😭 (at Barnes & Noble Santa Monica)

[livingwithanklebiters-blog]

Reintroduction

It was relatively easy for me to admit my feelings last week; although, I received a few unintended responses ranging from concerned to totally ignored. Some people apologized for offending me with their comments while others asked why I never mentioned these feelings.

One of the more surprising things I found about becoming a new parent, and specifically a stay-at-home mom, was how isolating the job could be. At the time, I only had a few close friends that had children. While my childless friends and family were encouraging and excited about our new arrival, I just didn't feel like they truly understood what I was experiencing. In all fairness to them, how could they really? 

So I joined play groups and attended "mom's clubs", I went to coffee shops and play gyms, but I just wasn't making the genuine connections I wanted to make. I didn't get it, why wasn't I connecting? Why was I still feeling so isolated and unfulfilled? 

In addition to the desire for connection, I think a big part of what I missed was making the type of contributions I had made in my BB (before baby) past life. Contributions that made me matter to other people, if that makes sense. 

Of course, I know I matter to my son, to my family. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the satisfaction you get being part of a team on a project at work, or publishing an article, or finalizing a report for a client, or securing a donation for that non-profit, or whatever it is that you do outside of your home and family that makes you feel validated. The opportunity to share your opinions and ideas, stories and suggestions. The expression of adult ideas in conversation with other adults. Oh adults, I how miss thee!

These "contributions" don't even have to be work-related or require other people: reading for pleasure, getting some exercise or a manicure, cooking a favorite meal, going on a date with your husband or your best friend, perusing a hobby. It's keeping alive the things inside of you that make you more than just a parent, a mom. 

Becoming a parent, and specifically a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) seemed to polarize the "new" me from who I had been in the past. It was like I didn't know how to be anything else but a mom. And while I was thrilled to have such an important role, I also couldn't help but mourn the loss of my old self.

I became a SAHM partially by accident.  I never had to make the decision to leave my job.  When I got pregnant, I wasn’t working in a full time career. I left my law career behind in 2011 and had sort of been ambling along, trying to find a path for myself. I started a business about six months before I became pregnant that had begun to grow, allowing me the chance to boe creative and entirely my own boss. With the help of a great hire, I was able to run the business through my pregnancy and into a few months my son's life.  But eventually, it became too difficult to run the business and focus on my increasingly active baby. I wasn't ready to jump back into a full time career, so the business was closed and I officially became a full time mommy.

I always planned that I would one day leave my career and be a SAHM. My own mom stayed at home for the majority of our lives and I couldn't imagine growing up any other way. I wasn't caught up in some stepford fairy tale, I just wanted the opportunity to raise my family exactly the way I wanted to, without the constraints of a job. 

But now that it's been a few months, I realize just how important it is for us to have an outlet (or ten) for ourselves that keeps us connected to our spirit, our soul. Because our children will grow up and one day, God willing, leave us to fulfill their own dreams.  Who will we be at that point if we don't continue to nurture and cherish our own selves? 

I'm starting off small, with a little writing. (Thanks for reading!).  I'm not sure where it will take me or what will be next, but I'm hopeful and optimistic about the future and this journey.  The journey to rediscover myself and to cherish myself a little bit more.

And you should too. Whether it's with reading or writing or dusting off an old art project you stowed away, or maybe picking up a part-time job or volunteering. It's time to reintroduce yourself. To yourself. 

[anariadarling]

wanna Change Careers? uhhh...you Can't.

Medical billing.  It's what I do.  Is it my passion?  Hell, no!  As a matter of fact, I'm pretty friggin' tired of listening to people whine about their shitty insurance and bitch at me for sending them bills. 

I'm tired of people expecting me to fight with their insurance company.  They tell me it's MY JOB to fight with their insurance company.  Honestly?  No, lady, it's NOT!  If your insurance company doesn't want to pay YOUR bill, as long as we billed correctly, than it becomes YOUR job to fight with your shitty insurance company.

I'm tired of dealing with inexperienced insurance reps who don't understand what I'm billing for.  I'm tired of one rep telling me one thing, then hanging up the phone and, literally, calling right back and being told something totally different by the next rep.

I'm tired of working for an office who doesn't accept credit card payments and being reminded by patients who call to make payments on a daily basis that we are now in the 21st century.

I don't want to do this type of work anymore.

The problem?  This is where my most recent experience lies.  This is what is at the top of my resume.  This is what prospective employers see first when they look at my resume. 

I would be happy as a front desk receptionist, greeting people as they come through the door, taking their information, answering phones and doing other sorts of clerical work.

I would be happy as an administrative assistant (aka secretary).  Filing, answer phones, making appointments.

I would be ECSTATIC doing something theatre related.  Working in costuming, makeup, on stage, or even in the back office.

I would be just as ECSTATIC working with animals, dogs in particular.  Training them, walking them, helping them, spending any sort of time with them, including cleaning up after them.  I was a kennel tech before and it has been one of my most favorite jobs ever.

Short of complete and utter reeducation, I can't seem to obtain a job doing ANY of those things.  The only response I can get to my resume is in the health insurance industry.

Can we say....frustration?