"Here We Go Again" by Elena Goodrow

If you look back at old column posts I have written, you will probably find that a large portion of them are about change. You would think I would find more variety in my subjects, but what is life without constant change? In my life I spend each day, week, month, or even year simply trying to find ways to adapt to all the change. I quite enjoy writing updates about the chaos of my life, and I hope you enjoy reading them too. Feel free to laugh at the entertainment, or find comfort in knowing that we all have chaos in our lives. Without further ado, here are the past few weeks of my life.

I have been looking for a new job for a few months now. I worked as a pharmacy technician at Ingles, a Southeastern grocery store chain. I enjoyed the job for nearly a year, it’s even where I met my incredible girlfriend (Thanks Ingles)!

However, the longer I worked there the more problems arose. Unfortunately the location I worked at did not prioritize their employees. Their response to hard work was threatening to cut your pay. It wasn’t ideal. After Hurricane Helene destroyed the Ingles headquarters in October, things only got worse. The company lost a lot of money so they started cutting the hours of all employees. I got my hours cut several times, and the manager even tried to send me to a different store an hour away (I politely declined). One particular coworker got priority treatment, and it was the last straw when they cut our hours for the fourth time in 3 months and my coworker got to keep her 40 hour work week. I was cut to 12 hours. When I got this news I already had an interview lined up at Walgreens, so I was rushing to make sure I had another job lined up. Luckily, I got the job! I’m hoping it turns out to be a great job. They value their employees greatly and I think it will be a good situation. 

I had my first day at Walgreens the first week of January, which also coincided with the first day of the Spring college semester. I'm working on pursuing a degree in nursing. I did a couple of online classes last semester, but this year was my first time attending an in-person class. Literally the first time I’ve been in a classroom my whole life. I was homeschooled until I graduated high school, so I’ve never been in a classroom setting with other students. I was so nervous, but I actually had a great time! It was still difficult to experience so many new things at once between class and a new job. 

In addition to all of that new change, I’m in the middle of an eczema flare up on my eyelids. So… that’s no fun. I also have been on the phone with Accredo pharmacy for at least an hour every day for the past week. It’s incredibly difficult to remain kind and calm when they are telling me all the reasons their system will take 7-10 days to process my refill, even when I remind them that I’m out of my medicine. Between missed doses and eczema I’m not feeling my best, so navigating new experiences is more challenging. 

Finally, a big snow storm rolled through Georgia this week which is very unusual for my home state. The entire state shuts down, there are no resources or knowledge for dealing with snow. The roads do not get plowed and businesses remain closed. Everybody is stuck in their homes for days with three inches of snow. I’m sure those of you who live further west are laughing right now, I know it’s crazy. 

This chapter of life doesn’t begin to compare to the chaos of other chapters, but I still find myself struggling to remain calm through it all. This chapter is full of exciting change, but it’s still a whirlwind. How do you balance the chaos throughout life? I find myself drinking tea and taking deep breaths. I try to remind myself that I can get through this, everything will change again next week anyway!