So, here I am trying to write something for money. Why? Because I need it. I have one child, myself, an apartment, and really not much else. Except a lot of bills and a ton of health problems that need to be taken care of.

From high school to past college graduation, I worked retail. A total of 7 years (with almost a year break my freshman year of college). And there is something I need you all to know about retail and food workers:

I sold out.

This is a question for more of an advance group of practitioners in my opinion. Recently I received this question and my first thought was to dismiss this question. Is it unethical to give positive commands that the subject enjoyed themselves in a session seems moot, does it not? As I thought about it the person was likely responding to something deeper. The person writing to me argued that these commands rob the subject of the agency to decide for themselves whether or not they liked being hypnotized. How might you answer this question?

When you’ve toiled at the same factory for 5 years, and suddenly get fired by the new and biased line manager over a small mistake, you are hit with a wave of disillusion and plunged into a fresh state of uncertainty. Being unemployed in a foreign country where you’re meant to be earning to support family back home, whilst carrying the risk of deportation, puts one in a vulnerable and highly stressful situation. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s then the emotional turmoil you face from a relationship you’re desperately holding onto, with a future that yet again, bodes uncertain. When you initially meet Darna (all names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals), you would not have expected her to be carrying such burdens.

After a full renovation on my home, I needed ways to boost my income. I wanted to avoid selling the home so soon after updating.

So, my thing about tipping goes back a long way. Some of the first tips I ever got were when I was a newspaper boy and after a long, hard year of giving up precious after-school video game and comic book time, Christmas came and it was time to tip the paperboy. I got a pile of money, mostly in $5 bills and it all seemed to make the sacrifices worth it. I took the money the newspaper company saved for me and blew most of it at a local roller rink on pop, chips and video games for me and for a guy who wasn't a friend for very much longer (when the money ran out). I gave the paper route to my brother who had even less interest in walking for miles each day for the hope of a couple of bucks per house every two weeks, and I let the newspaper people deal with it. The next time I got tips was when I worked as a pizza delivery person. It was killer. My boss paid me the princely sum of $5.50 an hour and each time I took out a pizza, I got a great tip. No tip, no gas money. No tip, no lunch out the next day. In a way the job was a circle of slavery to me. I worked so hard to save and save then learned all I could about cars and went out and bought an old junker. I loved every minute of driving it but everything from gas to insurance was so expensive. So I got a job delivering pizza but the problem was I drove so much that I got sick of driving, it wore me out. And the extra money always seemed to find some place to go.

Over 50 million people rely on social security benefits for their income during their retirement. Not all people plan to fund their retirements completely with social security income. In fact, retirees have various income streams like monthly payments from a pension, Individual Retirement Account (IRA), 401 (k), and even social security. Many people believe that social security is a helpful source in the later years, will others have different thoughts. So, let’s understand in detail what does social security mean and how it is beneficial.

Our craft matters, the beauty we create with our words matter. We shouldn't waste them

A simplified overview of your employability, the workplace and artificial intelligence.

Can I see your toes?

Heartbreak of any kind can be like getting dealt a bad hand in any card game. Heartbreak from friendships, relationships or even memories. I think people would never think of having a heartbreak from a memory. But when I listen to Selena Gomez's new song, I think of the heartbreak from a two and a half year relationship that I had with coffee, aka my old job. I saw the signs that it was not going to be my forever, I gave it my all by memorizing all of this towns' coffee orders. I needed to lose that job to find myself, and realize my worth in anything. I would've never honestly thought about losing that job would be as hard as it was. I loved, breathed and dreamt about that job. It was my everything, and everyone around me knew it. When I lost the job, I cried the whole way home, and had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I contemplated so many job ideas, and nothing honestly made any sense. I had finally gotten a job at a local grocery store, that led me to meeting whom I call my "little sister," and a few other amazing people. After that job, I never in a million years would think I would go back to making coffee for people. But here I am, waking up early again to make people coffee, and loving every moment of it. Yes, waking up at 2:30 in the morning two days a week to open is exhausting, but my coworkers make it worth it. We never honestly realize how much we see certain people during the week until we really think about it. We see our coworkers around 20-40 hours a week, and sometimes that is more than we see our own family. When coming into this job that I have now, the beginning was exactly like my first job, and I saw the signs this time, but handled it in a completely different way; and for that I am completely proud of myself. My first job taught me a lot of things, and for that I am forever grateful but the one thing it didn't teach me, was how to lose the first love of your life. In the end, it did; but not for a very long time. Even to this day, my Timehop is of memories of that job, and I am continuing to choose to not dwell on the past; but man, did I miss a lot of the signs... Being a barista for two and a half years at a place where dreams were made to come true, was exhilarating in some parts. Holiday launches were fun because the flavors to this day are my favorite. Chestnut Praline in my Chai will forever be my staple now. I learned how to work, how to be independent in my own worth and about friendships. I will never forget the friendships I thought I had. But those friendships taught me for future friendships that were similar, and boy do circles just keep going sometimes. I think the thing I miss most is the connections I made with certain customers, and to this day—I will never forget them. This job will forever be apart of who I am, and who I was. Dealing with this heartbreak has not been the easiest, but I am making it. Strides everyday, and every moment. I have some of the best coworkers at my job now, and I am forever thankful for that. Being a barista for some people is just a paycheck, but for me it will always be about connections with people just by handcrafting a beverage or handing them a coffee. I am forever meant to be a barista, and I am thankful God has shown me that. Here's to the heartbreak of my first love, and to many more, but in that it is more of a lesson than anything. I needed to lose that job, to find my true calling—and no matter what I am thankful to be a barista