Make Lemonade. That's what my grandmother always told me. She's probably the biggest reason I am as optimistic a person as I am. Sure, I have dark gothy tendencies, but when things get really bad, I always have a way of turning it around.
My lemon? I was fired yesterday from Yahoo!, a company I loved, adored, revered for the last 3 years. It was because I was too outspoken, and wouldn't fall into line. See, I got a new manager two months ago, and instead of going along with the proposed changes from the "new sheriff" in town, I raised my voice. I had questions. I questioned him, and tried to hold him accountable to being my manager. Apparently that was the wrong tactic to take.
So I came home. I cried. A LOT. I cried so much I couldn't open my eyes, and I gave myself a migraine. See, I don’t see crying as a weakness. It can be very cleansing actually. Water is the element of emotion. We use it to cleanse our bodies every day, so it only fits that we sometimes use it to cleanse the soul.
I was pretty numb yesterday. I applied for unemployment (unknown if I will get it) and after explaining to my roommates (who I have been friends with for the last 7 years) they assured me everything was going to be fine, not to worry about it, the house would be taken care of.
I didn’t sleep last night, my mind was way too full with everything. All the shouted outrages from my friends at work, the simply wise words from my friend Adam, telling me everything would be OK. It was at 6am that things changed for me. I started creating my resume, my list of references, job history…I’m not going to let some small minded man who does not like to be challenged make my days dark.
It all comes down to one thing: everything, EVERYTHING in life happens for a reason. There are no accidents, no coincidences. As I was writing my resume, I thought maybe I would like to work for myself. Do something in writing…something different. You can rarely work from home and have it NOT be a scheme, so I went to Yahoo! Answers (just because a manager failed me doesn’t mean that the company did) and learned about a freelance bid type of site. I’ve placed a couple, and we’ll see where it goes in the next few days…but one thing is for sure:

If I had not been fired, I would have never found it. Possibly it could be my calling, working in my pjs, writing as though I know the secrets of the world. It might not. But, I wouldn’t have been fired if there wasn’t something very distinctly waiting for me. Something with my name on it. It’s out there. I just need to follow my instincts.

-Emilie Wyqued