i'm honestly done. all throughout 2022, i've worked mostly service industry at restaurants, one being a money laundering front that was shady as hell. had a short little gig at selling juices which was okay, but not really for me. after that, went to one last restaurant that completely turned me off from working for other people ever again.
i've noticed that if your bosses aren't fucking stupid, they're incompetent. if they aren't incompetent, they're racist and homophobic. if they aren't racist and homophobic, they're stealing my my labor.
after working at abusive workplaces, i'm just done.
so i decided to see if i could claim unemployment benefits. i honestly didn't even think i would get it, given that one of the jobs was off the books and the last job i had hates me, but i jumped for joy when i saw the email from NYS DOL saying that my claim was approved.
it's not much. roughly $260/wk, but i'm also using this time to aggressively save (not spending $50 on Japanese dinners every night) and also to take my photography semi-professional.
my unemployment will last around 6 months. by time it's done, i hope that my photography business has gotten off the ground and i'm able to eek out somewhat of a living until i figure out what i want to do next. which is probably, and unfortunately, going back to college.
in a perfect world, my cameras would be my living. doing what i love when i want and how i want instead of trading my blood, sweat, and tears for peanuts while i get berated by an idiot because i can't satisfy his/her need for the most minute details when i don't get paid enough to do so.
i don't even know anymore. i'm too young for this and i'm exhausted. we'll just see where i'll be in the next year or so.
good luck to everyone out there.