The Day That Changed Everything

Today marks a day that I should forget about but cannot marking three years since I was laid off and although I am working today, thank God, February 28^th, 2023, will always be a day of pain. Remembering this day like yesterday. I do remember before this day, it was a time in my life I had great peace and happiness, as I was at the healthiest weight I had been in years.

Work and the Unexpected Layoff

Having had almost three years of stable employment as the last time I was out of work was in late 2019. A real sticking point for me was I was not even allowed to make it to three years of working at Meridianlink before being laid off, although I was not the only one, as about 9% of the staff was cut.

The Experience of That Morning

I speak of this day, as a reminder to those who have been laid off, fired, let go often out of no fault of your own. It is said that a layoff is just a traumatic as if you lost a loved one. That morning, I had a morning call with a client at 7:00 am. Waking up and naturally checking my team’s app, but strangely it was not working, then I went to my work computer, it would not allow me to log in for some reason, possibly I was still half asleep.

I felt the need to check my email when I had following message from the CEO of the company:

Coping with the News

Immediately feeling the pit of stomach that in a way was not surprising as other companies, especially in tech, were going through mass layoffs and this was our time, despite the company telling us quarter after quarter that we are in great shape, especially since the company went public. I immediately woke up my wife, although I contemplated showing her, giving her a few more hours of peace but needed to share it with her, obviously she was saddened, worried, seeing how it immediately affected. I genuinely like my role despite the year prior getting a new manager and finding her to someone who cared nothing for me as her employee and went out of her way to make life difficult for me, a person I shall never forget.

The Aftermath and New Challenges

The most painful effect after the layoff was what happened afterword with my search for employment, finding and working for what I thought to be my dream company at Southern California Edison, but was wrong as I was forced to leave after five weeks of employment. I also made severe errors in judgement, my mental state declined and eventually I was hired where I am today and happy for the most part since September 2023.

The Lingering Impact

Ultimately since that day, I don’t think I fully recovered and unfortunately my weight gains have influenced my self-worth.

Struggling to Move Forward

For most, they tend to move on and put in the past, for but me I can not for some reason, but know I should, it’s a painful time in my life of a time when I was truly at my happiest which is what I have strived to get back to and haven’t.

Financial and Emotional Consequences

For those who have gone through a layoff, you know the pain and for many they are severely affected. But what more is that due to this event, this affected my financial health of myself and family, which had a domino effect in 2024 and 2025, as I am barely beginning to recover, that is why it continues to haunt me today.