Today marks another ending for me. My life seems to be filled with those, whether or not I want them. Today’s ending is not nearly as dramatic as some others have been, thankfully. Nevertheless, it is still an ending, and that still means adjustments. It’s a change in my workplace.
Prospective employers in the future might hesitate if I were to tell them the amount of jobs I have had. Let’s face it; I’m a job hopper. My first jobs were cleaning jobs. I tolerated those, probably because they were my first jobs and because I wanted the money. Do I ever want to go back to cleaning residential homes? No, thank you. But it was work, and I was still living with my parents at the time, so it was an okay fit.
Next, I attempted eldercare. I learned several important things during this experience. Number One: Please get some proper training before you attempt personal care. I did not, and it was not a pleasant wake-up call. Number Two: Just because your mother is naturally skilled at a job does not mean it will resonate with you in the same way.
I moved from eldercare to live-in eldercare. The couple I lived with was thankfully very tolerant of me and my shaky mental health at the time, but the combination of already struggling mentally and living at work was extremely difficult. I learned another very important life lesson here: never live at work. Work and home should be two separate things; otherwise, you can never truly get away from your job. I lived there for a year and a half.
I moved on to a basement apartment, where it was only me. And later, my cat and me. I miss that cat- dear Molly. During the next year and a half, I worked in bulk food one day a week, helped to clean a business once a week, and worked at a bakery. I also spent a little time in a greenhouse during the spring season.
I took a nanny job, and moved again. I attempted tutoring on the side for a short while. But the nanny job was only during the school year, so last summer, I started a part-time job at a creamery. I went back to nannying in the fall, but kept the creamery as a side job.
This summer, I picked up some extra hours doing housekeeping at the local motel, and have decided to drop the creamery altogether. However, the motel business is part of a restaurant and bakery business as well, and the motel will start sharing me with the bakery next week. It will be a full time job for the remainder of the summer and hopefully something to fall back on after my nanny job ends next spring.
Am I crazy? Maybe. Or maybe I just haven’t found my niche in life yet. Are there benefits to job hopping? Yes, surprisingly, there are. You learn a wide range of skills, for starters. Can I bake sugar cookies? Yes. Cook in a commercial kitchen? Yes. Help an elderly person shower? Yes. Push a stroller, change diapers, and read stories? Not all at the same time, but yes. Have I used a pricing gun? Yes. Can I choose flowers for a planter? Yes. Clean a flat top? Yes. Make a bed? Yes. Bake flaky, layered biscuits? Yes. Be a cashier? Yes. Make an omelet? Finally, yes.
Of course, there are disadvantages as well. Like not having a real career. Like having to start over so often. Like running the risk of being seen as a fickle person in the future. But for better or for worse, I’m moving on.
Twenty-something 