“With every adversity comes with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

I’ve decided it’s not fun being fired. Especially since it’s the second time now this summer. Alright, so both times were by the same employer who obviously didn’t know what she wanted, but still it doesn’t make it easier. I like leaving a situation with the upper hand, knowing that my services were appreciated and valued and that I left a positive impression. (There I go again, trying to be the people pleaser and worrying about what everyone thinks about me.) Nevermind the fact that if someone doesn’t communicate exactly what they want, it makes it rather difficult to deliver or meet their expectations. Even though the season is just about finished, it still doesn’t take the sting away. Why now, when we are so close to the finish line? Was it really so bad that it couldn’t wait another two weeks when I was planning on leaving anyway?

It made me think back to the first time I was “let go.” I was just getting ready to graduate college, and having been with the company for nearly five years I thought I was building a bright future for myself. The department I was in decided to do some restructuring, and before I knew it my position had been eliminated. Of course they allowed me to apply for other departments within the company, but the damage had been done. All of my hard work and loyalty to the company had been overlooked, and I found myself knocked back to the bottom rung with the position I had originally started out with. Now how do you not take THAT personally? Not to mention with the added stress of my wavering job security, my personal life also found itself on unsteady ground. Shortly after I took the blow from work, my fiance came home and called off our upcoming wedding. To say I was having a bad week would be an understatement. At that moment I didn’t know how things could get worse (besides having to call the family to tell them the news, dealing with our wedding vendors to salvage what I could of my deposits, and then finding a new place to live.)

Eventually I pulled myself out of the black hole life had thrown me into. Time moved on, and so did I. In fact, the changes that occurred in my life and the changes since then, are probably the very reason why I am doing what I’m doing today. I would have never had the courage to break away from my comfort zone and try something new, and I know for certain I wouldn’t be seeing the world as I am today. I’m not even going to mention the hundreds of friends I have gained as the result of losing the man I thought I loved. I know it sounds cliché, but I believe more and more that things happen for a reason. Whether you realize it in that moment or it takes years to gain perspective, the path you end up on I believe is exactly the path you need to be on.

So here I am, facing my empty suitcase again. As tempting as it is to take it personal, I realize I didn’t really get the bad end of the deal. These itchy feet have been dying to get back on the road again, and now I have the freedom and extra money to do so. A few months ago I starting planning a trip to Scandinavia thinking the season would be well over before then. I was disappointed when I found out I would be working through the trip, but as luck or fate or synchronicity would have it, we are currently one week before the time that I had originally planned to go, which means as a bonus I can squeeze in a trip to Florence and Rome too. Maybe I wasn’t able to win the boss over and I’m not counting on an invitation back next season, but as they say, you can’t please everybody all the time. I gave it my best under the circumstances, and even if it wasn’t good enough for someone else, the only thing I can do is learn from the  experience and move on.

So as I hang up my white polo and bring the suitcase and Lonely Planet book out, I wanted to leave you with a thought from our dear friend Oprah….