Coming Full Circle

In 2020, I lost my job. I didn’t just lose my job, but I lost it 2 weeks before we were set to close on our first house.

I was panicked. I felt like a failure. I begged them to keep me on for 2 weeks to prove that I had a job at closing and then let me go.

Panicked, I reached out to our realtor who, bless him so much, said that if Blayne and I need to, we can crash in his finished basement with his family since the house that we were renting already had new tenants set to take over the lease on once we closed on our house.

As kind as it was, I asked if there was any other option.

“Unless you know someone who will co-sign for you, I’m not sure.”

Enter Andrew Callahan. My closest friend that I trauma-bonded with during our journalism days. I was chatting with him and venting with him about the situation we were in. He said, “What can I do to help?”

“Unless you want to co-sign on for the house, just hope that I land a job soon.”

He paused on the phone.

“Yeah, I can do that. Let me talk to Alicia (his partner) and his parents.”

Again, the best person in the entire world that I’m so thankful I found in an otherwise shitty job in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Shortly after Andrew was adamant that he would co-sign on the house with Blayne so that we could move forward with our plans, I was able to land a job interview with a nonprofit organization in Pennsylvania.

See, as desperate as I was for a job—and I was desperate—I also was hoping that I would be able to find something that I was passionate about.

With experiencing abuse firsthand growing up in my father’s house, interviewing for a position with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence felt like a perfect fit.

I would be able to help people. I would be able to do work that I was passionate about. I’d take a pay cut, but it would be worth it to find that passion in my work.

“This is my dream job,” I said during the interview.

And thankfully, they hired me to start in mid-August, a few weeks after our closing date, and a few weeks after Andrew drove from Boston to Pennsylvania overnight so that he could be there in time to sign the mountain of papers for us to have our house (and his house, too).

Fast-forward 3 years, and I left my position at PCADV to move to Georgia. The move had nothing to do with the organization, rather looking for a fresh start for myself and Blayne. I was tired of the snow and feeling that I would run into my biological father randomly.

Blayne wanted to get away from her family that she cut off, too.

I cried when saying goodbye, because I loved that organization so damn much.

But it was time for a fresh start in Georgia, joining a software company as the Director of Marketing.

A new challenge. A six-figure salary. A full marketing team. The ability to work remotely a couple of times per week.

Two of those things happened, but the marketing team and the remote working didn’t. It’s OK, it happens, and I guess that was the long-term vision for the position instead of the initial vision.

I spent two years there full time, and that’s when my boss at PCADV—the best boss that I’ve ever had—told me that she was leaving PCADV.

I was surprised but also so damn happy for her. I thanked her for everything that she taught me and thanked her for everything that she did for survivors.

I was excited to see who PCADV would hire for her position, and about a month later, I saw the job posting and thought, “Hmm, what if?”

It turns out that “what if” was more than a pipe dream, as after a couple of interviews and conversations, I was offered the position of Director of Communications at PCADV.

I get to return home, in a way, and I am absolutely thrilled to get back to doing work that means a lot to me and helping people out in a time when the administration is making the country a lot less safe for domestic violence survivors.

I am continuing my work with the software company on a part-time basis, because we really have worked hard to get where we are over the last couple of years, and because as a millennial, all we know is side hustles, right?

But what made this job feel like it came full circle was the fact that Andrew came to visit this weekend.

We went to a couple of Red Sox vs Braves games, watched Game 6 of the Knicks and the Pacers, and played 2k where I demolished him.

But he finds a way to always be there in the big moments. His wedding. My wedding. Buying my house. A suicide attempt. Helping each other move. My divorce. His engagement.

It only made sense that he would be here the day before I started my new job at my old organization.

I am beyond thrilled to work for domestic violence survivors once again, and frankly, my advocacy never stopped. But now, I get to do it again alongside some of the best people I’ve ever met, doing work that isn’t easy, but is so god damn worth it.

The sports conversation will continue here Friday with the latest WNBA power rankings and takeaways from the week.

Thanks for being patient with me.