If you don't count the last two and a half years of self-employment, I have been employed consistently for almost my entire adult life. There was one period of about three months after I first moved to British Columbia in 1991 when I was unemployed. My first unemployment cheque came in about the same time I started working again. I figured I might as well give the cheque back...I wouldn't be needing it, and I could maintain my pride in the fact that I had never accepted unemployment money from the government. I still have not to this day. And I really am very proud of that.
Giving that cheque back to the unemployment office really screwed them up, too. I don't think anyone had ever done that before! They honestly didn't know what to do with it. They tried to talk me into cashing it, but I knew they'd just ask for it back because I was working again. So I refused. They had to figure out how to deal with it. Thanks for being there just in case, and all, but I'm not taking pogie unless I really, really need to.
I like working. I was lucky enough to have parents who paid my way through college without asking for the money back, so when I graduated I was debt-free and had a marketable skill. Very lucky. I've been a graphic designer ever since...though just in the last couple of years, I've branched out into other types of work (you kinda have to take what you're offered when you're self-employed), and now graphics is only a portion of what I do.
But I still like it. I like the variety. I like the challenge. I like having something worthwhile to do. I really like being of service to people...providing something they need, whether it's transcription, or a business card design or some research into something.
For the first two years of my self-employment I worked from home. I loved that. Loved it. But about 18 months on I started to realize that working from home, all by myself all day and night, all week long, was not really all that good for my mental health. I started feeling like I might be suffering from mild depression. So when my biggest client asked if I could start coming in to their office from 9-5 every day to help cover off some overflow work for one of their staff, I was happy to accept. It's nice to go in to the office every day and see other people, interact, socialize a bit, bounce ideas around, get feedback on stuff.
I think the most important, vital, critical, can't-stress-it-enough factor about working is that it allows me to be independent. Sometimes I wonder what would happen to me if I couldn't earn a living for some reason and it scares the bejeebers out of me. I like being in charge of my own life. I like living alone. I like having a car and the money to eat out when I want and treat myself to little luxuries now and then. All that would be gone if I wasn't earning a wage. I couldn't stand it.
So...while many people might raise an eyebrow at the concept...I'm very thankful for work. For being employed. For being able to make money doing something I enjoy (most of the time), and being independent and self-sufficient. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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