u/Plus-Formal4887

Every interview, and every email that says "we went with someone else," and the whole thing - it feels like it breaks you. I know this might sound a bit dramatic, but I'm really struggling to keep my self-confidence from collapsing. I know I have a lot to offer, but I hate this process, and it's hard not to sit there replaying everything and beating myself up over every answer that came out awkward or any tiny mistake.

I had an interview early today, and since then I haven't been able to stop replaying all the stupid things I said in my head. It's like my brain decided to make a highlight reel of my worst moments. I also got stress hives, which feels ridiculous, but that's what happened.

I just want this whole thing to be over somehow, and honestly, I've literally only just started.

I am a 23-year-old young man, and honestly, I feel like I'm starting from below zero. I don't have a university degree. I don't have skills that are useful in the market. I work long shifts at a nearby shop just to barely survive - and even then, there are nights where I eat less so that the money lasts.
I don't want to spend the coming years feeling like I'm wasting my life. I am ready to work hard, learn the right things, and build something bit by bit. I'm not looking for a quick way to become a millionaire or fake motivational talk. I just need a real starting point.

I come from a family that didn't have much, and school didn't really work out for me. Now I see people talking about saving, learning trades, side hustles, and getting ahead - and I want that very much. But from where I am now, it all feels confusing and far away.

If you were in the same situation and managed to get out of it, I would really appreciate hearing from you. What helped you? What should I focus on first? And what advice would you give yourself if you went back to where I am now?

Even one practical step would make more of a difference to me than you can imagine.

We're treated as if we work 42 hours a week, but most of us end up working far more than that. Our roles involve a lot of late nights and Sunday work because of programs and meetings that sometimes need us to travel hours away. The workload is so heavy that people regularly keep working after dinner or on days off just to stay on top of everything. Even though the baseline is 42 hours, the unspoken expectation is that we do more than that because it's "part of the job" and we're salaried.

Then this morning we received a short email from the manager "reminding" the team that we're expected to work 42 hours a week. My guess is that they looked at a system report and noticed someone had a slightly lighter period recently? Tbh, the whole thing felt insulting. We're grown adults in our late thirties and forties. The work gets done, people do their part, deadlines are met, and nothing is falling apart. We don't get overtime, so there's no compensation for all the extra nights and weekends we consistently give them. And no one was making a fuss about it.

So I'm not sure what to do here. Should I answer at all? And if I do, is it fair to point out the extra time we put in far beyond the 42 hours?

We all know it can be really rough. My alarm kept yelling early, and honestly, I had absolutely no desire to get up, get dressed, and go pretend I was fine at work. I wasn't knocked out by a bad cold or anything, but I was mentally drained and badly needed to catch my breath.

I stayed in bed for a bit and got caught in the usual guilt spiral: should I just push myself and get it over with? Then I realized something: I have sick time for a reason. It's part of my benefits, and I earned it by showing up and doing my job.

The strange thing is that so many of us feel guilty about taking time off, even when it's literally available to us. We act like we have to save every hour for some future disaster, or like one day of absence means we've dumped everything on everyone else. But burnout is real, and sometimes taking one step back for a day is what keeps you from crashing later.

So instead of forcing myself through a shift while distracted, exhausted, and watching the clock waiting to leave, I called out. I slept a little more, made real coffee and breakfast, took care of a few errands I'd been putting off, and gave my brain a chance to reset.

So here's the reminder that I probably needed too: if you have sick days, use them when you need them. If you're physically sick, mentally drained, or barely pushing through, taking care of yourself counts. Don't feel guilty for using a benefit you earned. People need breaks, and that day was mine.

I went to work in the morning mentally prepared to donate the next 7 hours of my life to the restaurant I work at, only to find the manager coming up to me and telling me they were letting me go.

Apparently, the owner got a complaint from the president of the neighborhood residents' association saying I was "spinning my tires" while leaving the dirt lot next to my workplace. My car doesn't have traction control and the tires are a bit worn, and the whole parking area is loose dirt and gravel. Sometimes the wheels kick stuff up because they don't immediately grip the ground, so I have to press the gas a little more just to get the car moving.

The dumbest part is that they didn't even see me driving recklessly inside the restaurant's actual parking lot. I was leaving from the dirt lane on the side of the place, and apparently someone from the HOA decided that meant I was doing burnouts or something.

The whole thing honestly feels insane, but I wanted to ask here before assuming I'm not the crazy one. Is firing me over something like this valid?

Edit: okay, I think I will start job hunting again. Everything was toxic in this place. I can no longer bear. This subreddit inspires me with many useful tips, will definitely apply them in my job hunting journey.