Hi, Hello! My name is Sarah - the writer behind redgregory.com.
I Got Laid Off Due To COVID-19: Here Is My Meltdown. I wrote this at 3am. It starts as a thoughtful reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic and devolves into me unleashing all the questions sitting in my brain. It was therapeutic to write. l didn't bother editing it. I apologize for the rambling.
One week ago I was living in a different world. Everything was chaotic with COVID-19 all over the news, sure, but I never imagined I'd be unemployed 6 days later. Don't worry about me. I can manage. I always do. It's not like this is my first rodeo, although, I will admit this time is different. Very different but I remain optimistic.
I don't want to make this about me, this is a Notion blog after all, so let me gush about the program and how it's been helping me cope and remain hopeful about the future. All-in-one management programs and really any software that increases productivity, education, commerce and communication will be valuable tools after COVID-19 (more than they are already).
The way we think is going to change and it may change forever. Many see this period, as devastating as it is, as a forced trial run for a fully tech-reliant society, a society that uses technology to make life easier with automation, learning more efficient and catered to the individual, communication methods more creative, government more streamline. That is if our infrastructure can handle it.
What will become of the future? What will hold us back? What will shake the status quo? Is COVID-19 really the turning point or are we all overreacting? I can tell you one thing. We sure as hell aren't overreacting. Everything will change. What I wonder is to what degree? Will change be for the better or will we collapse under it?
Valuable skills will shift as well. This is what I'm thinking about given my circumstance and abundance of free time. My skills are scattered, unorganized and another synonym for a mess. I lack a college degree. I dropped out two years in. I have skills through sheer personal experience, helping creative friends with illustrations, doing photoshop work for a customer I met at work who pointed me to another potential client then another, making spreadsheets for fun, writing for a clickbait website that one time, etc. The jobs I have are all part-time to get the bills paid. Otherwise, I run a few websites that make no money yet but are wholly enriching.
I'm 25. I suppose I may be naive or privileged, but I never thought much about "skills" until now. What skills will be valuable in 1 to 5 year's time? Will a formal education be a requirement given shifts in the academic world? I assume online education would be a great business move. Maybe I should create that online course.
I have a lot of questions, clearly. I think everyone does. Here are some more → objective: what are my skills? ... and other anxieties.
- How do I display my skills given my situation?
- If someone walked up to me right now and asked what do you do? I would stare blankly at them (from a 6 feet distance of course) and change the subject. That is an impossible question, sir! I suppose most can answer this but how do I respond without sounding like a child? "Um, I guess I'm figuring everything out." Ugh, okay millennial.
- Will my resume even matter given the economic spiral we're going headfirst into? Are businesses hiring?
- I live in New Jersey. It's not going well here in regards to COVID-19. The governor is practically shutting everything down. I need to move online. There's no making money in the real world right now. What does that even mean? I worked only one time for a clickbait website a while back. It was a nightmare, but hey, I guess I can manipulate middle-aged women into looking at a list of tiny home screenshots from google. That's a skill, right? Maybe I'll rephrase. Make it sound more legit. Social Media Copywriter. Added to the list.
- What if my computer breaks and I can't afford to fix it? Am I doomed in this new world? On the same note, what if I can't afford my internet connection anymore? Lord, I don't want to think about that.
- Why is everyone so lackadaisical right now? Why is everyone joking about a very infectious virus? Why is everyone treating this like a vacation? Do they still have jobs? I suppose they do. For those who do not, this is the worst kind of vacation, no?
- I do have a support system ... that also happens to have underlying health conditions and asthma. I live with her. I can pick up a part-time job thanks to a friend. However, I would have to be around A LOT of people. I can't risk it. Money or my mother's health? It's a shame I even have to think about this longer than 5 seconds - it took me several hours.
- I don't trust the government right now. That's it, moving on.
- Let's stay on track. Back to skills. I can find my way around social media ads. Noted.
- Spreadsheets. This is my most valuable skill that happens to have no proof of client work. I did help that clickbait site with a content calendar in google sheets. I have it saved somewhere. It doesn't matter. It was super basic anyway.
- Maybe my websites will magically pop off. Eh, not in enough time I'm afraid.
- Unemployment here I come full of anxiety and pessimism! I'll sleep on it and come back in the morning.
NEXT DAY
- Here's the thing. I overreacted. My skills are as follows: Social Media Management, Copywriting, Excel/VBA, Photoshop, Logo Design.
- Excel work is actually really valuable. I'll head into freelancing with that one. Goes to show, anxiety fogs rational thinking. For anyone going through a similar mind scramble, sleep on it. Have a coffee. Cuddle with your dog. Make a list. Write down all your feelings and job anxieties. Maybe sleep on it again. Talk to a friend about it. You may not come to a conclusion. Regardless, drive into the unknown with your best efforts. We're all lost right now. Just try to stay healthy and get creative! The world is changing rapidly. Adapting to this degree is disorienting. I'm right there with you. Let's take this one day at a time.
... with that being said, no more coronavirus talk. I will be getting back to normal content.
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My Mood This Week
I'm planning to track my mood through the entire year in order to better understand what is making my poor days poor and what I need to do to fix them - hence, the "cause" property.