Continued from Part I: The Classic High School & College Overachiever

Six weeks after I began my first “real job,” I was laid off. I was devastated. I cried. And I graduated from college without a job—exactly what I did not want to have happen.

During these five months of unemployment, I went through somewhat of an identity crisis. What does someone who has grown comfortable wearing the adorning adjectives of “smart” and “successful” do when she’s a jobless graduate? It practically felt like being naked! I could no longer define my worth by what I achieved in school or at work so I had to find out what was left when I removed myself from these comfortable, yet confining, systems.

This was a big step in the direction of defining myself by who I am, not what I do.

In a spate of frustration at the incredibly slow job search process and a longing to see the world, I headed to Europe for a month-long, solo trek through the continent. I love the fact that I gained a first-person understanding of Big Ben, The Eiffel Tower, The Coliseum, El Prado, and many other iconic European sites. Despite the less-than-desirable bathrooms in hostels, I don’t regret my trip one bit! I learned that I was capable of great adventures and that there were always little guardian angels watching out for me. While I was in Europe, I received an e-mail from the HR department at my former employer enquiring about an open position.

A week after I returned home, I interviewed for and received this corporate job. But before I went back into the office, I took advantage of the outplacement classes that had come with my severance package. These sessions lead people through the process of discovering what they wanted to pursue and finding new employment.

All around me sat men and women who had been at their companies for 3, 12, 33 years and all of the sudden—had been let go.

They were devastated. They felt betrayed.

They had lost everything because they had invested everything in a job that could disappear in an instant.

In my 21-year-old mind something clicked.

And I said to myself, never again would I give up everything for a company. Never again would I sacrifice my friends, my family, my health, my interests, and my sanity for achievement. Never again would I prostitute my life in exchange for money.

To be continued in Part III: From Corporation Lover to Accidental Entrepreneur

© Elizabeth Grace Saunders 2009