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My Job? What Job?

Seeking Future Employment

By Atomic HistorianPublished 3 years ago Updated 9 months ago 6 min read
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In this challenge, we are asked to answer the question, “I love my job because…” Well, the truth is, this is a hard question to answer. I, like many others over the last year and a half, currently do not have a job. This is not to say that I have not worked since COVID hit the world. In some ways, I have experienced quite the opposite at times.

My experience with the effects of COVID on my work life began when I was working security for an oilfield construction site. While this was not my dream job, it did provide stability for my family and me while finishing my bachelor’s. Unfortunately, once the price of oil dropped, the site closed. And with nearly every other business in my area shut down, there was nowhere for me to find new employment. I then turned to the internet in an attempt to make a living. And like many, this endeavor has not gone as well as I had hoped.

Truth be told, I was working towards this move before COVID. However, COVID accelerated my efforts. To this end, I took the now ample time on my hands to further amplify my online presence. I created a new Instagram page for my stickers and writing. But being a novice in the digital marketing space, I was still floundering in my attempts. Then I was activated to support COVID relief efforts for the Navy. I had no idea what was in store for me on this mobilization.

Taking in the apocalyptic scenery. Somewhere on the road in Oregon, on my way to Washington

Upon my arrival in Washington state, I was thrust into working 50-60 hours per week. This, combined with me starting school again, meant I had to put my dreams of working independently on hold, as I no longer had the time to dedicate to building my online presence. Little did I know, I would once again be cast out into the wilderness with no real safety blanket, as our activation was suddenly cut short, and we were sent home. While I had fortunately made the choice not to uproot my life entirely, this did put me back into the same rough spot I had been in before I left; no job and minimal prospects in my area. And that is where I am now.

It was not all bad. I made a pilgrimage to the park dedicated to Frank Herbert.

As I am writing this, I am redoubling my efforts to have my work be both something I enjoy and is untethered from the whims of market forces or the will of an employer. This has become my reality since the only job I had has now closed. While some have taken to food delivery or providing rides; I have taken to sharing my writing and drawing efforts online in an attempt to support my family and myself. I do this because I love to write.

As a writer, I love to write poetry. I love to write science fiction and fantasy stories, bordering on what Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergrier would call fantastic reality. I also love to write history. There may seem to be a contradiction between a historian that loves to write science fiction and fantasy, however, the two realms are not that far apart. This is because they are all concerned with telling the story of the human condition.

Science fiction and fantasy are important subjects to me, as they have influenced me from a young age. It was my grandfather and mother that introduced science fiction and fantasy to me. My grandfather introduced them to me through the works of Ralph Bakshi, Frank Frazetta, Gene Roddenberry, Frank Hebert, and Douglas Adams. My mother further encouraged my indoctrination in science fiction with her dedicated viewing of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Quantum Leap. This led to my love of movies like Stargate and the Star Wars franchise, as well as TV series like Babylon 5, Stargate: SG-1, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. With this groundwork laid, the next evolution in my love for science fiction and fantasy would come in the form of books.

The first Ralph Bakshi film I watched. I would watch this every visit to my grandparents

I was first introduced to fantasy fiction by Brian Jacques’s Redwall series. This would be followed by an introduction to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe by a middle school English teacher. This class also developed my love of science fiction literature. As it was Enders Game that showed me the richness that science fiction books offer. These stories, often derided as childish, unrealistic, and unimportant, have shaped who I am and why I write.

So, now you may be asking yourself, what about history? You said you like to write history. Well, the tale of how I became a historian is a little different, and my love for history comes from a place quite the opposite of my love for sci-fi and fantasy. If sci-fi and fantasy force us to ask what can or should be, history forces us to answer the question of what is the truth of our past. And it is the quest for truth that draws me to history. It is the role of historians in society to unflinchingly tell the story of humanity, with all of its warts, scars, and ugly truths. And it is with this that I have begun to publish some of my history papers here on Vocal.

When I began publishing my history papers online, it was on another site that allows direct self-publishing. This is great from the perspective of not waiting days, weeks, or even months to find out if what you have written would be accepted. However, the downside is that this site has significant hurdles to surmount when it comes to visibility. And for someone working towards becoming a full-time writer, this translates into this being an unviable option for creating a writing career. So, how did I land on Vocal?

Well, the answer to that is quite simple: my wife. My wife is the one that shared a link to one of Vocal’s challenges on my Facebook earlier this year. And it was this Vocal challenge that inspired me to make another run at online publishing. The first two stories I published on Vocal were a story about a Little Black Book and a Doomsday story involving a heart-shaped locket.

I will be the first to admit, these two stories were not very good. I agree with much of the feedback I received from friends and family, which was: great concepts, but poor execution. However, much of the roughness of these stories was due to my attempts to curtail these stories to the word restrictions, while keeping the heart of story true.

Despite these first attempts not going as well as I had hoped, it was a great learning experience and has inspired me to explore the Vocal more. And to this end, to write and publish more. And it is this inspiration that has seen me publish two history papers and two poems in the last few weeks, with more coming. I am currently working through editing some of my papers to publish here. And am translating much of my poetry into a digital format to publish here as well.

So, in the end, what is my job, why does it inspire me, and how does it make an impact on the world? Well, as stated in the beginning: I do not have a “real” job right now. However, I am taking what inspires me, writing, and working to turn this into a career. And in the end, I hope that my work can inspire a world where we tell the truth about our history. And that, perhaps, my fiction can inspire a better world.

Thank you for reading my work. If you enjoyed this story, there’s more below. Please hit the like and subscribe button, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and if you want to help me create more content, please consider leaving a tip or become a pledged subscriber.

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About the Creator

Atomic Historian

Heavily irradiated historian developing my writing career. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram. To help me create more content, leave a tip or become a pledged subscriber. I also make stickers, t-shirts, etc here.

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