perspective.

i heard about some people being laid off today. and for a second i thought to myself that wow, i was so glad i wasn't in their shoes. and then i slapped myself upside the head. i guess when it's this long - when it lasts this long - it starts to feel like something different. and it is. it's different than the first day or the first week or the first month or even the first quarter. because after awhile you start to get more connected and you hear of people who actually have your best interest at heart. you learn that someone recommended you to someone else. you find out your name is being passed around. that your ears should be burning. that people like you. that the economy doesn't like you - but that people do. and these are the things that allow you to go on through your day. at a pace that is comfortable and not anxiety-driven like it is at first. like the first hour. the 60 minutes that are vomit-inducing. so as an unemployed veteran, i say to those newly unemployed this one thing: you will get through it. and if, god forbid, a year from now you are still unemployed, it won't feel the same. and you won't be the same. you will be stronger. you will have a larger network. and you will, somehow, have more confidence. i promise.