Jobs # 15 (Quicksilver)

Two incredible things happened to me in 2018. My girlfriend and I bought and moved into a new house. This happened fast but was fantastic for us, much like the next incredible thing that happened: we got engaged.

I haven’t had any relationships like this one. I feel simultaneously at home and constantly hopeful and grateful for what is ahead, and I’ve felt this way almost the entire time. If I ever had an inkling of love before this, it’s been fully realized in my current relationship. We made significant, rapid strides this year, and it has paid off completely.

We flew to Costa Rica, stayed in the hills, sleeping amongst monkeys and lizards and enjoyed beautiful views and food for four days. As the trip ended, I knew I had something I needed to do. One day, we took a walk and ended up at a waterfall. I asked her to marry me and, to my genuine surprise at the time, she said yes. We walked back to civilization and our budding life together in a state of total bliss.

The new house was beautiful, weird, and full of potential. Over the past seven years, we’ve really made that blank canvas our own. Our home has become our fortress, our safe space, and where we need to be the most. We’ve thrived here, surviving a plague, raising children, and creating constantly. I can’t imagine life without it, to be honest.

I did what I could to make money and stay in school. I worked as a medical courier for about seven months. This involved driving my own car several miles around the city for about fifty hours a week, delivering blood and plasma to hospitals and medical facilities.

I wore a button-up, blue-collar shirt that was one size too big. I had ridiculous decals, which were not removable, displaying the company’s name on the side of my brand-new car. I drove from Lee’s Summit to Lenexa to Leavenworth on Sunday mornings, a weekly route that repeated twice. I remember trying to stay awake on the highway to St. Luke's in Lee's Summit at 5:45 AM multiple times.

I had desperately wanted to get out of the service industry, but I had just as much grief working as a courier. I was able to make money, sure, but I spent my day eating at QuikTrip, getting more runs, and not doing enough schoolwork.

The end came, as it always does with employment. On the second run of one of my Sunday routes, I had failed to get blood to a hospital in time for testing, and the sample went bad. We were required to keep samples on dry ice, but there had been none at the previous location. I tried to explain this, but it fell on deaf ears.

All in all, I’m glad to be rid of this job. I learned that stress is a factor to consider when evaluating employment opportunities, and regardless of how well it works, your mental health should be at the forefront of your concerns.