I'm a 40-Year-Old Giant Baby
Another month has come and gone, which means it's time to suck it up and be a big ol' 40-year-old baby (this will make sense later, I promise).
I haven't had a traditional full-time job since last November, almost a year now. It's not because I haven't tried. When I was first laid off, I must have applied to nearly a thousand jobs. But the competition in the job market at this point in my career is so oversaturated that employers see thousands of applications for each position. That's bonkers.
So, where does that leave me? Because I can tell you, as extensive as my career has been, it's not "stand out from thousands of applicants" impressive.
Though just because I've been unemployed doesn't mean I haven't been productive. In fact, this last year has probably been the most productive year of my life. I've started multiple businesses, two of which are actually still alive and earning money. One of them is growing fast and has real potential, and the other is really more of a side hustle.
And while I'm extremely proud of what I've built, neither business is paying the rent. I make enough to cover most of my other bills, but my housing, by far my largest expense, is far out of reach.
Consequently, my parents have been helping with (aka completely handling) my rent for around 10 months. I don't even know how much I owe them at this point. Other than being amazingly financially supportive, they also believe in the business I am building, but unfortunately, the millions we expect is going to take time.
I do my absolute best to show them how thankful I am. I'm at their house damn-near every single day helping with something, whether it's bringing their garbage out to the curb or helping them move boxes around; I always make myself available. But it's not enough. Not nearly enough.
So, when I say I feel like a big ol' 40-year-old baby, you can understand why. It's that time of the month again, and my bottle is empty.