Job searching just hit a one‑year anniversary for me after a full year of being unemployed or underemployed.

I’m still working part‑time in retail because it’s the only thing, I’ve been able to get. And it’s not just stocking shelves, helping customers, or running a register. It’s everything right down to hauling out the trash.

Fifteen cans at the end of the day. Nine hours of giving everything I had. And somehow, I missed one. Fourteen out of fifteen.

The store manager called me up to the front to let me know. The can was small, half‑full of paper. But the moment hit harder than it should have. I felt just as small.

It became a new low point. For a second, I wanted to climb into the dumpster with that last forgotten can and disappear.

I won’t forget how that felt not ever.