From heavy self-doubt and depression to being almost absolutely content and happy with where I am, the past year has been a whirlwind of experiences and emotions.
To start off, I’m no longer working from home. I made the decision to end my contract a month early to pursue a different job opportunity.
I really enjoyed working from home for the first couple of months. I was able to wake up and not worry about traffic, I listened to music, had my favourite shows playing in the background, and even took quick naps during my breaks. Plus the job itself was straightforward and simple to do; I was able to reach the expected 400+ orders each day pretty easily.
However, I didn’t realize how draining it would become in the long run until I left. Maybe it was because I had to do my work in the basement with sunlight only coming in past 11 am, or maybe because data entry for almost 8 hours straight became mind-numbing for me even with constant distractions in the background. Overall, the job was not for me – I felt like I was going crazy towards the end. My mental health was definitely going through a very intense roller coaster of ups and downs.
During the last the month of my contract I was looking at internal postings and job boards for new jobs. I applied to quite a few medical lab positions, and actually heard back from two. Yet, one rejected me due to lack of experience in the lab, and the other I chose not to pursue it due to the negative reviews and experiences I heard from former classmates of mine who did their placements with the company. I understand that it’s best to gain experience if you want to further your career, but did I really want to work in a high-stress environment full-time for just over minimum wage ?? Especially after the burn-out and depression I felt working from home for 10 months, I wasn’t about to jump into a position that could affect it even more.
So I got a new job with the help from a family member at a medical company! A completely different environment from what I had experienced since landing my first job as an MLA/T in 2021, and completely different from my previous position. At this job, I am helping customers get items they need for home healthcare situations such as individuals needing walkers or rollators (I didn’t even know there was a difference between those, transport chairs and wheelchairs), bracing, and wound care items. I’ve learnt a lot about this aspect of healthcare. It’s the side that you never really see until you or someone you know needs something.
It’s been a pretty good time so far. It was hard the first couple of months since this job requires a lot of physical work; lifting items, putting items together, and just walking around, in general, helping people. It was quite an adjustment after sitting for so long.
On top of changing jobs, I’ve also been working on MedLabScholar during my free time, and worked on commissions too! I think most of you who follow me on social media have noticed that I’ve barely opened my commissions the past year. This is due to MedLabScholar taking more of my time to maintain and optimize (especially since it was the first year of our small business), as well as some pretty big commissioned pieces for CSMLS! It’s been a good time for the artist and student in me since I’ve been developing my illustration skills an learning new ones – in doing so discovered my love and interest in ux/ui design and graphic design.
Overall, I was focusing a lot on myself – my experiences and my skills in 2022. It was the year of “Let’s make sure to put myself and my mental health first before my career and see what happens”. I’ve had some friends ask me when I’d return to med lab, and in all honestly, I have no idea. I’ll get to that another time. Right now I just know that I’m content with my life.
Have a lovely day!
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