Looking Back on This Year

How is everyone spending their time during the year-end and New Year holidays?

I have so little to do that my days are just a cycle of sleeping and eating (lol).

While it is true that I have nothing to do right now, I feel that this year was one where I worked quite hard.

So, although it is simple, I am writing a 'Year-End Review Note'.

I have made the content such that it might help you spend your next year a little more meaningfully, so please read until the end.

January to March

First, I will write roughly about January to March.

To be honest, January to March was a period where nothing much happened. If I had to say, I was working as a recruiter at the time, so my head was full of recruitment matters.

Recruitment is the busiest time from January to March, and it was quite a hectic period involving updating job sites, participating in external information sessions, and visiting schools (universities and vocational schools).

But since it was my third year, I was able to get through it without much trouble and managed it easily.

April

April was a busy time with new employees joining, involving education and training. This is also an annual routine, so I didn't struggle that much, but it was also the time when I started to worry little by little about whether I should change jobs.

Also, this was the time when a friend recommended FX to me and I started it. At first, it seemed like a scam and I couldn't really get into it, but I wanted some kind of change, so I started it on impulse.

In the end, I failed, so I don't do it anymore, but I think it was good as a life experience.

May to Early June

May was the time I was most depressed this year.

Due to a combination of poor physical health and mental health issues, I had days where I couldn't sleep for several days in a row.

Honestly, it's a period I don't want to remember, but I think I am who I am today precisely because of this period, so I will talk about it frankly.

I don't think I was that depressed until around the beginning of May.

I started to get depressed after the 15th, and the days I took off from work gradually increased.

About a week later, I finally reached my limit and used a resignation agency to quit my job.

Now, I regret using an agency and think I should have just quit normally, but at the time, I used it without thinking.

Since then, I couldn't tell my family I had quit, so I would leave the house by car in the morning and spend my days at a nearby park until evening.

Eventually, I even grew to dislike being with my family, so I decided to stay in Miyagi for about a week where a friend lived.

This is my experience from May to early June.

Mid to late June

After staying in Miyagi for about a week, my family found out I had quit my job, and I had no choice but to return home.

They didn't get angry, but they were very worried about me.

Moreover, at that time, I was carrying nearly 1 million yen in debt, so my mind and body were in tatters.

Even so, I still had the desire to work, so I decided to start with a part-time job first.

I interviewed at about five companies, but since I didn't want to do customer service, I chose to be a hotel room cleaner.

I started in July and kept at it for about four months, so I think it was a good result in the end.

Also, this was the time when I started a side hustle.

I didn't think I could keep it up for long on my own, so I joined a few schools. Although I had taken on a large debt of about 2 million yen, I wanted a change, so I joined on impulse, just like I did with FX.

Now that I am earning a stable income, I don't think it was a wasted investment in myself at all.

July

July was also a very difficult time.

I started working as a hotel room cleaner during this period, and since it was a hot time of year, it was very tough both physically and mentally.

Hotel room cleaning is quite physically demanding work, so for someone like me who had only done office jobs, it was truly 'hellish work'.

Even though the number of working days was low, my health was also falling apart.

Also, since it was around the time I started a side job, that was tough too, and I think I was only getting about four hours of sleep every day.

Furthermore, I had various conflicts with my parents and ran away from home several times.
I also experienced sleeping in my car a few times. As expected, I caught a cold.

In late July, I finally cut ties with my parents. I still don't speak to them.
I live with my grandparents, so I am being taken care of by them now.

This period was truly a "living hell."

August

This was the time when I was gradually getting used to my job.

Even so, it was hotter than July, and I almost got heatstroke.
Also, the days of not being able to sleep because of the heat continued, and although not as bad as in July, I continued to feel unwell.

This was also the time when a friend from Miyagi quit their job and stayed at my place.

Since we help each other out, I took care of them for about a week as a gesture of gratitude. (Sounds arrogant, I know)

Also, this was when I started job hunting.

Even for someone like me who used to work in recruitment, it was quite a struggle.

Days of applying to company after company without getting accepted—I was getting sick of it.

From here on, a three-month hellish job hunt began.

September

By September, my work and life had finally settled down.
Even so, with a large amount of debt and the job hunt piling up, I was spending some very difficult days.

Regarding the job hunt, as I introduced in another article, I applied to "over 100" companies in about three months.

Of course, not just locally, but also in the Tokyo and Aichi metropolitan areas.

With my main job and side job, I also had to think about my job hunt, so it was a truly difficult time.

It might be a funny story now, but I was so busy during this time that I barely remember it.

Also, there were various issues not just with my parents, but also with the grandparents who were supporting me, and I ended up running away from home several times during this period as well.

As you can probably tell from what you've read so far, the period from May to September was truly like a living hell.

I know I'm in an unlucky year, but I never expected it to be this bad.

October

Despite all my efforts, the days just didn't seem to pay off. Still, I finished my job hunting in early October and started working at my new job by the middle of the month.

Although I still have debt, I felt like my efforts were finally rewarded a little since I was able to find a new job as a full-time employee.

In the end, I applied to 100 companies and received job offers from 10. That's a 10% success rate.

Honestly, it was harder than my initial job hunting after graduation.

Now that it's over, I'm glad I had these experiences, but I never want to do it again (laughs).

November

It had been about two weeks since I started my new job. It was tough, but it was also rewarding, so I was spending my days feeling fulfilled.

Even though I hadn't received my first paycheck yet, my life was slowly becoming more stable, and I started going back to the hot springs I used to love.

While visiting a few times, I happened to run into a friend from junior high school, and we've been close ever since. Now, we go to hot springs and karaoke together.

One change is that I was able to become close with a friend from junior high again.

December

Finally, December.

I've gotten used to the work and have started being entrusted with various tasks. It's demanding, but the atmosphere at work is good and I find it rewarding, so I'm still enjoying my job.

I'm really glad I changed jobs.

Summary

This year was truly a difficult one, but since I experienced things I never had before, I think it was a stimulating year.

Next year is the final year of my unlucky streak, so something might happen, but I feel like if I could make it through this year, I can handle anything.

If there is anyone out there going through a similar experience to mine, please try using what I have written in this article as a reference.

Most things will work out somehow!

Thank you for reading this far.

I wish you a happy new year.