I took the courage to open the door, but behind it... was another door!

@intuitiveWater9305

Hey there! This is a neat thread idea! Also congrats on graduating and for taking the initiative and applying! Good luck with everything.

@BurningEmber

Thank you so much!

Now that I think about it, I hope everyone gets a (positive) kick from the stories here. Can't wait for them~

@intuitiveWater9305 - Great idea. I often worry about bad things happen, but rarely worry that something good will happen.

Here's a small one for you: In the middle of my dragging work day, my friend said to me: "Guess what just happened!" I immediately imagined something horrible happened, then maybe something wonderful. The real answer made me laugh. "Just that another hour has passed!" So, maybe not such a whimsical story, but from the fog of my depression I was definitely not expecting such a jarringly simple answer, so it made me laugh. It reminded me that I ought to pay more attention to the little things that are enjoyable, like having one less hour to be at work.

Also, here are two quotes that your title reminded me of:

"All the doors you had yet seen...were doors in; here you came upon a door out. The strange thing to you...will be, the more doors you go out of, the farther you get in." - George MacDonald

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing Material place." - Emily Dickinson

@wontsleepwontwake

You and your friend made my day better. :'D I will keep in mind both the quotes and the story.

@wontsleepwontwake

hahaha omg that is so funny x)

@intuitiveWater9305

Good for you that you were able to move past your fears and apply! I am going to share a quick story that I think is much less funny and hopefully more encouraging. I want you to know that you are not alone out there in finding out that there is something "more" to do when you thought you had really reached a milestone. So when my fiance and I moved to a new area, we were super excited. We love the area, and we plan to stay until retirement. Then we found out that none (we had four between us) of the jobs/contracts that we had were going to pan out! So though my fiance wanted to work as a licensed engineer, he went back to restaurant and bar management, which he has done for ten years. Easy, right? Nope! In our current state, he had to get (more) certifications in bar tending, serving, management, etc., etc.! It seems like every few weeks, there is another certification fee! I wanted to share this with you to hopefully encourage you to just keep going. Every time we heard there was another test or a fee, he took it, we paid, etc. Each time we were able to see a little bit more results and promise, as completing one step allowed him in training, then the other allowed him to serve, then the other allowed him to get the best sections, etc. I hope that you will be able to look for those tangible "wins" in the sitaution that will keep you going. You can do it!