After I was done college the first time, I found a job working for a multinational banking conglomerate. I thought I was on my way to to the top. Then the 2008 financial crisis happened. They ended up shipping most local jobs either outside the country or to offices in Toronto of Vancouver. I did not live in either of those cities. The only jobs left were in high-pressure sales. After 4 years of that, I was done. I knew I'd have a heart attack before I was 35 if I stayed, so I planned my exit.
I decided to go back to college and focus on IT. It started out great. I really enjoyed the subject matter and I was good at it.
My relationship with my girlfriend of the last two and a half years was thriving. I was completely head-over-heels in love. We were planning on moving in together so we could split expenses while I completed the second year of my program. This would have worked well for me since the program was so intense, I really couldn't have worked at the same time. We had also been talking about getting married in the near future. My future with her seemed very bright, indeed.
One night, about halfway through the second semester of my program, my GF went out for a staff party with some coworkers from the restaurant she worked at. I agreed I'd go pick her up when she needed a ride since I didn't want her having to take a cab or find her own way home. At about 4:30am, she calls me and says she needs a ride. I go to get her, only to find her walking down the street, completely trashed. She gets in my car and immediately passes out. I take her home to my place and put her to bed so she can sleep it off.
The next day, she gets up and showers. She gets dressed and comes out into the living room. She sits down beside me and says, "We need to talk". Those words are never good. She goes on to tell me at the party, she cheated on me with a co-worker. I was devastated. How could she have done this?
We sat there and talked. I went through several emotions. After a lengthy conversation, we didn't formally break up, but I told her I needed some time to think this through. She agreed and left to go home to leave me to my thoughts.
About a week later, we agreed to meet for a drink and to talk things out. Some mutual friends were going to a local bar to catch a band that night, so we met there early so we could meet up with them later if all worked out. She goes on to tell me she's so sorry, it was a drunken mistake and that it'll never happen again. I was an idiot in love, so I agree to take her back.
Our friends arrive and we're having a great time. My sister also shows up. When she does she says, "What is SHE doing here?" and points to my GF. I tell her what's going on. She says she needs to tell me something. Earlier that day, she was out for lunch with her BF at a rooftop patio. She told me she saw my GF with the co-worker she cheated on me with there, making out on one of the couches.
I was livid. How could she have done this and still came crawling back to me just hours later? I confronted her about it, but she wouldn't say a word. She goes storming out of the bar with her cellphone to her ear. I follow, wanting some answers. It turns out she's on the phone with this guy, telling him she needs to be picked up. Well, apparently he's right around the corner because within minutes, he's sitting in his car across the street.
I see nothing but red. I want this guy's head. She goes running to the passenger side and gets in. I can't contain myself. I want this guy out of his car so I can take out my frustrations on his face. He won't get out and locks his door. I proceed to take it out on the car door instead and put a large dent in it with my fist. He hits the gas and speeds off with the girl who, just minutes ago had been begging me to take her back.
My life was ruined. I had no job, no girl and my living situation for the remainder of my college program was in shambles. I didn't have enough money to support double the bills for the next year, so my financial plan was ruined too. To top it all off, I was completely heartbroken.
My grades started to suffer due to all the new stresses in my life and I ended up failing one of the core courses in the program. I had no way to fund the next semester, so I said fuck it and dropped out.
I started looking for work in finance again, but due to the financial crisis, there was very little work to go around. I'm sure the fact that I had left the finance industry to pursue a career in IT didn't help matters when hiring managers saw my resume.
After a few months of no income, I had run out of money and was relying on my student line of credit and credit cards to live. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to eat and I'd be out on the streets.
Debt started piling up and before I knew it, 6 months had gone by without any income. I had no money left and only had a few weeks left until I'd not be able to pay rent. I was going to be homeless!
I was an emotional wreck. It felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. It was at this point I had my first panic attack. I had no idea what it was, so now I thought my health was failing me too, which made things so much worse.
I called my sister and broke down into tears while explaining to her everything that was happening. She consoled me and assured me everything would be alright.
A few days later, I get a call from her BF, who is now my brother in-law to-be. He says his boss has agreed to hire me as a labourer in a pipe insulating company, working on construction sites. At this point, I had to take anything I could get. I was so thankful he had done that for me. I got straight to work and work hard I did. Within 4 months, my sister's BF had moved on to another company. I had shown such initiative that I was promoted to running the crew.
All the while, I had still been applying for jobs in either finance or IT as I knew I wasn't going to work in construction forever. I received a call from a local university about a job I had applied for in their AV support department. I went and interviewed for it and got it! I've now been in that position for 6 years and am running the department, making close to $70k a year. I've now completely recovered from the brink of financial ruin and love the work I do.
I honestly think I'm still scarred from that experience, or just recently have started the recover. I'm still single and I'm sure it's due to commitment issues I developed because of this time in my life. I'm still working on that, though. Having purpose and work I enjoy is helping that recovery process along nicely.
TL;DR: Bitches be triflin'