Looking Back at my Quarter-Life Crisis!

I’ve been “A Promised Land” for about a month and made it close to the halfway point. By now, it’s 2009 and Obama has been president for a month and is trying to get the economy out of the Great Recession that started in the Fall of 2008. I’ve read up on the collapse of the big banks and subprime mortgage crisis, and finished the most recent chapter by learning about the struggling auto industry. While this post isn’t about the book or politics itself, this blog starts off by talking about my life in the late 2000’s and my quarter-life crisis. 

In the Spring of 2009, I turned in my Kings attire as I made the decision not to come back and see what WIS had to offer. Looking back, would that have been a smart decision? Back then, it was a reprieve for me from where I was before. But, I feel that it’s still a temporary fix for me as I try to figure out what I want to do with my life. I came here because Kings cut my hours in the Fall of 2008 to the point where I wasn’t going to manage to sustain myself. Same old story at WIS as I didn’t work five days a week in the beginning and my hours were inconsistent. I still had student loans from Slippery Rock to pay off, but part of me wanted to go back to school to achieve another degree. I didn’t care about taking on more debt either. Looking back, I only wanted to do it because then, I felt my Slippery Rock experience was mediocre as I put my eggs in one basket. I’d pay off my loans later that year and be debt-free, but I was still experiencing growing pains in my life and at work in 2009 & 2010.

Ah, life before Toastmasters… and the blog… and everything else.  

Early on, the lack of hours was so bad that I almost did reapply at Kings. I eventually decided to stick it out at WIS even though going back to the restaurant business wouldn’t have hurt. Needing work, my sister came to WIS with me for a little bit, but they didn’t give her hours and eventually, she got a job working in the Deli at Giant Eagle. Funny how things work out as I’d go to work for the company myself (albeit in a different department) after many years at WIS. 

My late 20’s were a dark time in my life. I missed being in school because it was my safe space, and by the time I found myself it was too late and I graduated college. As bad as 2008 was with the Great Recession, 2010 was even more of a kick in the ass to me. The only good thing to come out of that year was going to my ten year high school reunion around Thanksgiving (crazy to think I’ve been out of high school 25 years now!). 

Things started to stabilize by 2011 and most of 2012. But it became clear that I was going to need to drop some of my fixations and just accept things as they were. That day would come in 2013, when I took the time to walk around the Slippery Rock campus. That morning, I was attending a memorial service for someone I knew at church when I was a student there.

I’ve had issues at work in the past but since coming to Giant Eagle, I’ve brushed off a lot of that drama as tempting as it is. These days, it’s less stress and more success and the success is winning out!