Something positive for once

Ok, so my posts have been less than positive on this blog, I get it.
But this time I want to convey something positive in my life and hopefully make you understand something important.

I have a job now! An actual, honest to frick REAL job. Not some subsidized unemployment contract, no help through welfare or job agency. A real job, through my own endeavors. And I am proud of myself. Real jobs are so rare now a days, I almost thought it was a joke.

I have been on welfare the majority of my adult life. It has been tough at times and its been alright at times. I've already pretty much explained how the paperwork needs to be perfect and in sync or my household economy collapses. It's been very hard.

But there is another side to it that I never quite understood until I got my employment... Your life is on hold.

When you are on welfare, you are given the minimum to survive where you are in your life at that moment. There is no room for savings, moving to a bigger place, buying new clothes or furniture etc. I mean yea, you can apply for certain things with welfare, but only if it breaks and only the cheapest.

All of that is fair. It helps maintain your situation until you find employment, because its meant to be temporary.

During my time on welfare, I never really bought stuff, cause I couldn't afford much. If someone wanted me and my bf to visit, they would have to pay for our trip. We never bought new clothes or stuff, we got them for birthdays or christmas, from our families.
Most our electronics are hand me down's or gifts.
The few times we did buy something, we scrounged and saved for ages to afford it, but ofc it was at a different cost.

When some medical emergency happened we had to plan for it in advance so that it wouldn't cripple us financially. Or we'd have to rely on the help from our families.

We are still stuck in the same one room apartment, we still have the same shitty furniture that are now coming apart.

But now... Now I have a job my body can handle and my bf has a subsidized employment underway. We are both in Unions and we have insurances.
We can afford to get a bigger apartment, we can exchange old tattered clothes for brand new ones. We can exchange some of our old furniture for new ones. We can afford to go on dates and give our relationship some extra attention. We can grow as a couple.
All those things that weren't available to us on welfare is now at our disposal.

Now, we are by no means rich ofc. We still gotta watch the spending. But the feeling of going to the store and for once actually get the groceries you WANT not just what's on sale or what's cheap, and not have to worry about how that's going to affect you financially for the rest of the month... That feeling is almost like being rich.

I know there are people content with just having their life on hold. But that doesn't mean that they're going to feel that way forever.
I think most people want to experience what life has to offer, and you can't really do that on welfare. It's a cage and you're a bird. Inside is safe and steady, but if you don't sing, you get no food. I think most people want to leave the cage, be free and I dunno, go to Jamaica once or so.

I think most people who have never been on welfare doesn't understand. Either they think "oh you just get free money for sitting on your ass all day" or they think you are so poor that you can't even afford to eat properly. Both of those arguments hold a grain of truth, but it isn't that simple.
You can sit on your ass and get free money, but you will never move forward in your life. You would have to be satisfied with the cheapest foods and pre-used everything. And you'd still be required to do certain things, except you'd be doing it without the satisfaction of a real salary at the end of the month.

And yes, you are poor. But if you plan your economy well, you will never starve. That's the idea of welfare. To help you survive. We always ate well, but we planned our economy that way and prioritized food and groceries.

But if you wish to move forward in your life, if you want to have a pension to support you when you are old, you want to get a real job.
And you want to feel like your work matters to the company you work for.

This holds true for most people I've known that has been or still are on welfare. No one likes it, not really. Not when life could be so much more.

I am grateful that I have job now, one that doesn't make me sick all the time. I am grateful that I get to pay taxes and that those taxes goes to others who struggle with their life on hold.

And if your life is on hold right now, I sincerely hope that it is only temporary.
It feels like forever and every time you apply for a job its the same bullshit.
Be brave enough to go for something you are passionate about, or at least have a genuine interest in.
And make a personal connection, let them notice you. All this over the internet nonsense doesn't work.

Ofc there's no magic trick for how to get hired. Mostly, you just gotta have a lot of luck and have the sense to grab an opportunity when it lands in your lap.

Thank you.

This is Lupus girl,
Life un-paused.