The 'new' job has proven to be a great step. Not only is it a company I can move up and around in, it's also connecting me to a whole other world of networking and industry professionals I otherwise would never have met. To make the deal even sweeter, my current boss and the team I landed on have been extremely supportive of my career growth and development, a trait that is exceptionally beneficial to my future.
As my position has grown, my boss and the company have lived up to their promises (something my last several jobs did NOT do), and I couldn't be happier from a career growth perspective. The only thing that would make this ideal would be combining what I have with my education and working in that industry with a similar team. It's still on my radar to head that direction, but in the meantime I'm developing into a far more valuable employee than I previously was.
Outside of work, life continues. The financial ruin that the divorce put me into is still haunting me, as I can't seem to get ahead. The difference from a year or two ago is that at least now, all my bills are paid, I have food on my shelves, and I'm actually racing motorcycles, which makes all the hard work totally worthwhile. Yes, I may be working 7 days a week unless I'm at the track, but I enjoy my jobs, and while I sometimes overspend a bit, at least I'm making everything happen when it needs to. Financial institutions still consider me a liability, but I can say with confidence now that I'm paying all my bills, on time, and not borrowing more than I already have (although I'm not dropping those balances much yet, either, at least I'm not adding to them).
The financial strain is the final remaining piece from the divorce that haunts me. I've even gotten my name back! Feels great to not have that little nagging everytime I'd see my signature or name in print. Finally, that is ME! It really is an awesome thing.
Life continues its journey, which is always an exciting ride. I'm reminded of Samwise in Lord of the Rings:
"By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great
stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and
danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end.
Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the
way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a
passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will
come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were
the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were
too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I
know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back,
only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to
something."
