What I learned in 6 months of being unemployed?

What I learned in 6 months of being unemployed?

I just finished my first week of work! After months of unemployment and many unexpected adventures(physical, emotional, and literal), I have a job. Thank God. This is a new chapter of life for me. But I've yet to really close out my last chapter. Here we go.

I wrapped up my master's program last August. With two engineering degrees in hand, I thought I was hot stuff. I was. I mean I am....but a healthy dose of humility was on its way. I moved my things back home to Brooklyn, and prepared to wait out the 2 weeks it would take for me to get a job. Coming home was going to be merely I rest stop in my life trajectory. However, as the weeks became months, humility set in and I found myself swimming through a life I never considered for myself. I made do. It is only now that I embark on this next phase of life that I realize my short hiatus was truly a chapter of its own.

Mommy in her wisdom asked me: "What is it that you are meant to learn from phase of life?"
I did not have an answer for her at the time. I still do not have a clear answer. Nevertheless, I have a list of potential answers. Here are some of the things I've learned in my unexpected 6 months of being broke, unemployed, and at home:

1) I'm not entitled to anything
2) Life always has its challenges, we have to be comfortable with the challenges we have at present and always rely on God
3) Hobbies are important. Finding and filling one's life with hobbies takes more effort and tenacity than I would have thought.
4) Free time allows me to be available to support my family
5) We wish for time but when we are given it, we are still ungrateful.
6) Simply living and moving around costs money. You can be frugal, but it still costs.
7) God provides


My very fancy degrees convinced me for a while that I was better than most people. I thought, where others have failed I might succeed effortlessly. I was wrong. The problem with this thinking is that it is absent a consideration of God. I've been afforded many opportunities, surely. But, each and every one of those opportunities was a gift from God. and none of them were gauranteed. For weeks I was frustrated that employers might reject me despite my accolades. Thankfully, I settled down to realize that ultimately any job or adventure that might come my way would only be from God. So I prayed about, put the footwork in where necessary, and I kept faith that the right door would open when it needed to. My patience was tried, but God heard me. We ain't broke no more. Alhamdulilah!


January 2022, I was stressing that I didn't have a clear thesis topic. June 2022, I had a thesis but I was stressing that I wouldn't complete it. September 2022, I had graduated but I was stressing because I felt like I was wasting my life. December 2022, I felt productive but I was because I was falling behind on commitments.
There is always another hill.
I've got stressors right now. Certainly. As soon resolves these obstacles, I'll have some new ones. I just gotta get comfortable with the hill I'm climbing and marvel at all the flowers along the way.


So many seasons of my life have been packed with obligations. Always busy. I might complain here or there. When I was given weeks of free time......I was still complaining. Odd.


The whole idea of hobbies if pretty attractive. After reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport , I realized that hobbies are essential. I gained an understanding of what makes certain hobbies high quality and I sought those. The journey to find these high quality hobbies--like actually find groups of people doing the thing you want to do--take more effort than I expected. With all the know-how, I still get stuck on the way to manifesting the hobbies I want for myself.


I'm big on family. Part of my frustration with being broke is it felt like I couldn't give back to the people who invested so much in me. In the meantime, I did small things around the house. People appreciated them. I see now that support doesn't strictly come in dollar bills. Giving time, effort, and presence are forms of support.


I had food to eat and place to sleep, thankfully. So I won't claim being broke in every sense of the word. I will say though. I walked places. I ain't do no shopping. I didn't eat out like that. I ain't see no movies. hanging out for me meant a good conversation. aaannnd STILL my wallet was hurtin. It's like breathing NYC air costs money. Brooklyn, born and raised. but y'all can take some of this back.


To follow the previous point. My savings quickly drained and I was broke for some time but God would constantly just bring unexpected blessings into my life. One month, there was a miscalculation with my finances and I ended up with more money than I thought. Another month, I volunteered somewhere and they surprised me with a check. Another month, I found an old gift card with a decent bit of cash in my old things. The list goes on. Everything is from God, truly. But when things come out of the blue exactly when you need it, it's easier to see.


2 more things:
First thing:
I want to pass on an idea that my neighbor shared with me.
At the outset of my job search I was very particular about where I would land. Community was a huge factor in my decision process. Becuase I believed--and I still do believe--that so much of who we become is a product of who we choose to surround ourselves with. I was repeatedly denied jobs in the nieghborhoods that I wanted to live in. My neighbor Mr.Greg offered some wisdom and he said "There are good people everywhere." Maybe that's obvious to some, but it's what I needed to hear and I still smile thinking back to the relief he brought me in that moment.

Second thing:
I want to celebrate some of the wonderful experiences I've been blessed to have in these chapter of hiatus. We plan and God plans. I didn't plan to have this time off. But, based off some of the things on this list, I'd say God's plan is pretty nice.

I traveled: New Mexico, Ohio(family), Morocco, Spain, Canada, Ohio(Friends), Austin, Houston
I started a blog!
I performed at open mic in texas, and at the Nuyorican!
I saw my sister get married
I made friends at the Islamic Center at NYU
I started reading poetry books

Thank God for all of it.