I lost my f/t director-level position in April of 2020, and have not been able to find consistent work since.
A bit of background:
- I was the historical archivist & campaign photographer for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential election. I spent a year on the road traveling within 10 feet of the senator from Vermont, documenting his presidential campaign for the world to witness.
- I served as the Creative Director for a company called BottleKeeper. In 2018, with my creative leading the way, we won a $1,000,000 contract on ABC's SharkTank, between Mark Cuban & Lori Greiner. Everything you saw on the screen, minus the product itself, was created by me.
- I was the Social Media Manager for an ad agency serving the automotive industry, managing 65+ accounts for dealerships across southern California.
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I was a college instructor of Digital Photography, with a 4.9/5 review from my former students.
I have a colorful career, but what makes it special is that I accomplished all of this after suffering a severe Traumatic Brain Injury in 2001, which left me with 15 years of amnesia and started my life over. In the years to follow my injury, I blew up to 400 pounds, was living in my truck at a camp ground, and had dropped out of “life” as I knew it. I am proud of all I accomplished after losing the first fifteen years of my life, but now I'm like “okay… what the hell do I do with all of this?” The message that the universe is sending me back is becoming more clear by the day.
After all of this, I am staring at my 35th job denial, after applying for over 700 jobs. Somebody who exceeds qualifications and *wants to work* should not struggle to find employment like this.