48 years old, what am I going to do now!?

After the sudden termination of my contract at the company where I had been a temp for over 20 years, I, a 48-year-old woman who thought she could just keep coasting along, have become unemployed. It is time to re-evaluate how I live my life. What will happen to me now, and how will things turn out? In the midst of my daily struggles, I will write down both the happy and the painful moments here, little by little. I would be happy if this could serve as some kind of catalyst for someone in a similar situation.

Episode 1: 'Sudden termination of my temp contract. 48 years old, and I'm seriously panicking.'
'Thank you for your hard work this term. We would like to renew your contract for the next term as well.'
This was an exchange I had repeated many times before.
The following month, I was suddenly told that my temp contract was being terminated.
I was told that due to the company's circumstances, the department I belonged to was being eliminated.

For me, having worked alone in sales administration and general affairs at the same company for 26 years, including maternity leave, it was all too sudden...
The notice came just two weeks before the contract ended.
Everything was handled after the fact, and the representative from my temp agency had no motivation at all.
The temp agency I belonged to had a system where if there were no more temp requests from this client, there were no other placements available. In effect, I was fired.
During the two weeks until the contract ended, I found myself tearing up with frustration over and over while working.
Was it because I lacked the skills? Should I have seen the writing on the wall sooner and gone somewhere else? Regrets from the past came flooding in.

The permanent employees chose their own paths. Permanent employees have retirement benefits and assistance in finding new jobs. On the other hand, temp employees have nothing...
I knew that being a temp meant having nothing, but at this age, this situation is tough. I am someone who chose to work as a temp after being swallowed by the waves of the employment ice age.
It is also true that the company treated me very well. I was able to work shorter hours, work from home, and received benefits on par with permanent employees. If someone says this is just how society works, then that is that, but I just can't seem to accept it. But it can't be helped. While my thoughts were spinning around and I was feeling miserable, the contract ended.
In my discussion with the temp agency, there was nothing to my advantage: they said it would be difficult to introduce me to the next job, that they could only find maybe one company, and that if I turned it down, it would be considered a voluntary resignation.
In the end, I decided to resign due to company circumstances. I'll use up my paid leave, and then I'll think about things slowly. It seems like I can receive unemployment insurance for longer if it's due to company circumstances...
──It is a story for a little later that I learned this way of thinking was naive.