What Being Unemployed and On Benefits Has Taught Me?
I could still find meaning in life and live even without a job or money
I have mentioned in many articles here about 2020, the year I was unemployed and on benefits.
I lost my dream job at a big magazine publishing house in October 2019. Back then, I had some freelance work coming in, and I was writing some e-books. So I kept hopeful and focused on what I had in my hand and on going to the gym. Unemployment wasn’t so bad after all.
I was sure I was going to find something soon.
I went back to Brazil from December 2019 to January 2020, and I came back to London hopeful. The winter and the rejections were two wake-up calls, and by March 2020, I got my first job in retail in London in a store near my old office.
I remember seeing one of my ex-colleagues during her lunch break at the store and feeling ashamed. Yes, now I work in retail. Yes, I have failed as a writer. Yes, I am not one of you anymore. Yes, I belong here across the street watching you all live the life I wasn’t able to keep.
I worked in the store for 2 to 3 days, and the first lockdown hit the UK. I was scared. I spend April and May organising my life, mainly my financial life. My parents…
