u/Comfortable-Draft441

Just finished my second day working at Tarbucks and honestly my brain is so fried.

I have eight years of food and customer service experience, but I graduated with my bachelor’s last December. I’ve been applying for jobs in my field ever since, but after being completely unemployed for the last eight months, I took this job just to have something coming in. Man, it’s kinda depressing.

Everyone on the team is genuinely really, really nice, but the whole setup is just chaotic. My trainer has only been working there for three months, had zero barista or Starbucks experience prior, and doesn't even drink coffee. She knows what she's learned so far, but "training" feels more like me just watching her solo a rush while trying to explain things on the fly.

On top of that, our Team Lead has been with Target for eight years transferring around to different stores, but she’s never managed a food place in her life. She did tell me that it was really challenging at first for her but she's super nice and seems like she eventually picked it up.
Plus all the computer modules I had to do were 100% Target retail stuff with literally nothing to do with Starbucks.

Out of two full shifts, I’ve gotten maybe two hours of actual hands-on experience. The rest of the time they just throw me on dishes. We’re super understaffed, there’s maybe seven to ten of us total and only 2 people are assigned to work each day.
The two or three people who have been there over a year seemingly refuse to train, so they just make the newest people do it. Apparently there were two other new hires right before me who quit within a week, and honestly I can see why.

I know food service is hard labor and never easy, but I just wasn't ready or expecting to use this much mental capacity just to stay afloat. I’m usually a fast learner and I always end up going above and beyond to become one of the go-to people at my jobs, so being stuck in the back doing dishes while dealing with all this clutter is just super
un motivating.

I didn't want to have to lock in like this for a temporary survival job while I keep applying for degree jobs, but I also feel like beggars can't be choosers since I was unemployed for so long. Is Tarbucks always this messy, or should I just try to find an easier, more organized food gig while I keep applying?

Hey everyone. Im 23F and I just graduated with a Digital Media degree (after changing my major four times), and I’m going through a full post-grad spiral trying to figure out how to structure my life.

I’ve always been a creative person who loves cinematography, and storytelling But my parents pushed hard for a stable, traditional path. Since I was also decent at tech and science, I compromised on Digital Media because it felt like a smart middle ground. It sounded good to my parents, it kept the door open for IT/tech jobs, but it still left room to pivot into something creative if I wanted to.

Brands always interested me so I started making mock product commercials on Instagram and TikTok to build a portfolio. People actually like them! But I realized something fast: \*\*I love making videos, and I love brand aesthetics, but I actually hate making product commercials.\*\* Forcing myself to focus on commercial product shots just to get recognized completely killed the fun.

Now, I have so many overlapping interests (video, design, tech, cinematography) that I feel completely paralyzed

I could get a 9-to-5 job in brand or graphic design. It fits my degree, pays the bills, lets me work with brands, and sounds good to my family and pivot my social accounts strictly to cinematography and video storytelling as a pure hobby.

The catch is, I really still want to do video storytelling and cinematography on the side, but I'm terrified that using my creative energy for a 40-hour design job will leave me completely burned out, with zero time or brainpower left to pick up a camera after hours.

Is it even a good idea to turn creativity into a
career?

Should I just get a boring tech job and it keep my creative stuff as an outlet.

If you ended up taking a tech/boring day job to protect your artistic hobbies, how did you find a role you could tolerate?

My heart completely dropped when I saw their message. I genuinely never expected to hear from them again. We were together for 3 years, and they were the one who initiated the breakup. It was messy, they asked for space, and we went strictly no contact.

Long story short, she reached out and we ended up calling and talking for hours. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to hear from them. But during the conversation, They broke down crying and admitted they continuously slept with someone throughout the no contact period.

She explained they were just using this person to cope with the breakup, that it didn't work, and that they missed me every single day. They said they wanted to reach out sooner but were afraid of messing up my healing process.

What sucks is that I still love them. Idk what bothers me more, who it was with since I was sus about this girl towards the end of our relationship or that regardless of the person, they did something with someone.

Part of me feels like an idiot bc the signs were there during no contact that they were possibly messing around but I convinced myself it was nothing and that my ex was taking the time to actually reflect and heal since the breakup was messy and asked for space.

Apart of me feels like I shouldn’t even be upset bc well they were single. They can do whatever they want right?

I don’t know what do yall think? Would you try reconciliation or just wish them the best and move on.

Edit: We were already struggling, and then they made a huge, life-changing decision to join the military without us having an actual discussion about it. Joining the military just pushed us over the edge, and the constant arguing after that made things really bad. They became friends with that other person at first, but after the actual breakup, the lines blurred.

Apparently the other person was getting over an ex as well, so I guess they were both using each other? Idk. The girl was supposedly “straight” so that makes things even more confusing. Having that comfort definitely made it easier for my ex to leave me though.

My ex admitted they’re the ones that blurred the lines and they also are the ones that ended it. They are open to reconciling now but aren't pushing it. They did admit that joining was selfish and that they gave up something good, and they’re considering therapy.

My heart completely dropped when I saw their message. I genuinely never expected to hear from them again. We were together for 3 years, and they were the one who initiated the breakup. It was messy, they asked for space, and we went strictly no contact.

Long story short, they reached out and we ended up calling and talking for hours. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to hear from them. But during the conversation, They broke down crying and admitted they continuously slept with someone throughout the no contact period.

They explained they were just using this person to cope with the breakup, that it didn't work, and that they missed me every single day. They said they wanted to reach out sooner but were afraid of messing up my healing process.

What sucks is that I still love them. Idk what bothers me more, who it was with since I was sus about this person towards the end of our relationship or that regardless of the person, they did something with someone.

Part of me feels like an idiot bc the signs were there during no contact that they were both possibly messing around with eachother but I convinced myself it was nothing and that my ex was taking the time to actually reflect and heal since the breakup was messy and asked for space.

Apart of me feels like I shouldn’t even be upset bc well they were single. They can do whatever they want right?

I don’t know what do yall think? Would you try reconciliation or just wish them the best and move on.

Edit: We were already struggling, and then they made a huge, life-changing decision to join the military without us having an actual discussion about it. Joining the military just pushed us over the edge, and the constant arguing after that made things really bad. They became friends with that other person at first, but after the actual breakup, the lines blurred.

Apparently the other person was getting over an ex as well, so I guess they were both using each other? Idk. Having that comfort definitely made it easier for my ex to leave me though.

My ex admitted they’re the ones that blurred the lines and they also are the ones that ended it. They are open to reconciling now but aren't pushing it. They also admitted that joining was selfish and that they gave up something good, and they’re considering therapy.

My heart completely dropped when I saw their message. I genuinely never expected to hear from them again. We were together for 3 years, and they were the one who initiated the breakup. It was messy, they asked for space, and we went strictly no contact.

Long story short, they reached out and we ended up calling and talking for hours. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to hear from them. But during the conversation, they broke down crying and admitted they slept with someone during the no contact period.

They explained they were just using this person to cope with the breakup, that it didn't work, and that they missed me every single day. They said they wanted to reach out sooner but were afraid of messing up my healing process.

What sucks is that I still love them. Idk what bothers me more, who it was with since I was sus about them towards the end of our relationship or that regardless of the person, they did something with someone.

Part of me feels like an idiot bc the signs were there during no contact that they were possibly messing around but I convinced myself it was nothing and that my ex was taking the time to actually reflect and heal since the breakup was messy and asked for space.

Apart of me feels like I shouldn’t even be upset bc well they were single. They can do whatever they want right?

I don’t know what do yall think? Would you try reconciliation or just wish them the best and move on.

Hey guys,

It’s been 4 months of no contact after a 3-year relationship, and I am suddenly struggling hard.

They broke up with me, and while I took it pretty badly at the beginning, I thought I was finally starting to get better. Now, out of nowhere, I’m crying all over again.

It’s so frustrating because it makes me feel like I’ve made absolutely zero progress. I am proud of myself for sticking to no contact, and I’m definitely not going to reach out, but damn the urge is so strong.

I keep trying to tell myself that they've moved on and are happier now just to help myself accept it. But I had a moment of weakness and checked their socials. This could just be me being delusional but it seems like they are struggling too.

I ended up asking my friends what they thought and they also think my ex is spiraling right now.

It makes things so much more confusing. If they're hurting and spiraling, why won't they just reach out?

Idk, I guess I'm just venting. I just need some kind, comforting words right now. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I really thought this person was the one fr:/

Before this, I was the person who didn’t even believe in love. I never wanted the house, the kids, or the marriage until I met her. We were together for 3 years, hiding it the whole time from our homophobic parents.

The breakup was confusing and honestly a complete switch. Till this day im not really sure what happened. When she broke up with me I didn't just feel "sad." I felt like I was dying.

I’m talking full-blown panic attacks and not being able to eat. I almost took myself to the ER because I genuinely thought my body was failing. I ended up having to tell my toxic mom everything just because I couldn’t keep up the "I’m fine" act anymore. She didn’t know I even liked girls let alone a relationship

It was messy as hell.

I used to think people were being dramatic when they talked about heartbreak, but I get it now. This shit is no joke. It’s physical, it’s exhausting, and it feels permanent.

But I’m 4 months into no contact now, and I can finally breathe.

She’s still on my mind, but the pain isn't trying to kill me anymore. If you’re currently in the trenches and it feels like the walls are closing in, I promise you aren't "dramatic" and you aren't going crazy. It just takes a long time for the air to come back.

Hang in there. I never thought I’d see the day where I felt okay, but here I am.

Before this, I was the person who didn’t even believe in love. I never wanted the house, the kids, or the marriage until I met her. We were together for 3 years, hiding it the whole time from our homophobic parents.

The breakup was confusing and honestly a complete switch. Till this day im not really sure what happened. When she broke up with me I didn't just feel "sad." I felt like I was dying.

I’m talking full-blown panic attacks and not being able to eat. I almost took myself to the ER because I genuinely thought my body was failing. I ended up having to tell my toxic mom everything just because I couldn’t keep up the "I’m fine" act anymore. She didn’t know I even liked girls let alone a relationship

It was messy as hell.

I used to think people were being dramatic when they talked about heartbreak, but I get it now. This shit is no joke. It’s physical, it’s exhausting, and it feels permanent.

But I’m 4 months into no contact now, and I can finally breathe.

She’s still on my mind, but the pain isn't trying to kill me anymore. If you’re currently in the trenches and it feels like the walls are closing in, I promise you aren't "dramatic" and you aren't going crazy. It just takes a long time for the air to come back.

Hang in there. I never thought I’d see the day where I felt okay, but here I am.