Now You're Just Somebody That I Used to Know

I loved the new Batman movie. Oh my gosh, if you have not seen it, you need to get off your butt right now (well, as soon as you finish reading this) and watch it. It's amazing. So great! Anyways, there's this part in the movie that really made me think a lot about my life. ***spoiler spoiler spoiler*** It's the part where Batman/ Bruce Wayne is trapped in the prison and he tries to escape and keeps tying himself to a rope and keeps missing the ledge because he has the rope wrapped around him, so he knows he has a safety net. He finally makes it out by letting go of the rope and jumping- he either lives and escapes, or falls and dies. Of course he escapes and becomes the hero. Let me explain how this relates to me.

I quit my job. I was trying to keep that a secret, and then surprise everyone with a new job... but, I guess I've never been one for secrets. No, I don't have a new, way better job lined up.

Why did I quit? Well, let me tell you, it was a long ways coming. I've known for a while that I was unhappy at this current job. My manager does not seem to think I have any potential- which is ridiculous, since I am actually way too qualified for this job, but whatever. I guess unless you're the suck up of the department you don't really get recognized. The drama in the department was driving me crazy too. You know that movie Mean Girls? That's my work place. My department has their own set of mean girls, and they will tear you apart if given the chance. I had the nerve to not only have an opposing view from most of the people in my department, but to actually voice it in my blog, which I then posted on Facebook. I was accused of being a prejudice, my family was insulted, I was threatened, and told my religious beliefs were crap- although, a much stronger word was used in place of that. I was shocked when this occurred, mostly because I have been nothing but respectful towards my coworkers and their beliefs that they constantly bring to work and discuss in front of me, and yet when I stated my views on my own personal blog I was the one attacked. And not only was I told that I was a terrible person, but my coworkers all seemed to agree with that. Ouch. Double ouch, actually. These were people I had grown close to for the past year, and in a split second they turned on me. And why? Because I have different beliefs than them, and I stood up for them. My goodness. If that's not a religious persecution story, I don't know what is.

I went straight to my manager and told him I was quitting because I was being harassed. I told him to take it to HR and that this needed to be addressed. I understand that people have different beliefs. I also understand that it is the respectful thing to leave controversial issues alone when you work together, but apparently since I have different beliefs, I am not subject to such privileges. I did not work for a couple of days after this occurred and when my manager got back to me he basically told me I was the one in the wrong for stating my opinions and beliefs. Yep. And I was told that I needed to keep quiet with my beliefs from now on, and that nothing was going to be done except an email going out telling others to respect each other- since apparently this is not common knowledge. Since I was being harassed over the internet, and apparently the people harassing me were doing it during their break time, I was told that there was nothing else that could be done, and basically called a coward for quitting. Yeah. That one I was not expecting either. I was expecting a little help from my HR, or at least my manager, but no. I was abandoned by my fellow human beings. 

I learned a valuable lesson while working at the museum. Timing is everything. "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1. I moved to Salt Lake about a year ago. People always ask me why I moved here, because I am from New Mexico, and all my family is there or in Arizona for the most part, so moving to Salt Lake all by myself seems crazy to most people. I moved here because I felt that this is where I was supposed to be- in fact, I still feel that way. I still feel like I need to be here. If you could understand how much I have learned about myself in the past year that I would not have learned back home, you would understand why I needed to be here.

Now let me tie it in to Batman. I have been stuck in a rut for a while now, and I keep thinking that something better will come along. I kept my job for months after I realized I was unhappy there. I just kept waiting for something better. I kept that rope tied around me. And then this occurred at work, and I quit, which you might think was letting go of the rope but even that wasn't good enough, because I kept saying if I didn't get a new job I would go home with my parents in September when they came up to drop off my sister at BYU-Idaho (Emma's going to BYU-I did you all know that?! I know!! I'm super excited!!). There I was, jumping, but keeping that rope tied around me, afraid to truly reach for my destiny. So, after talking with my parents yesterday I made the decision not to go home. I'm staying here. I'm going to rely on the Lord- as I should have been this whole time! I don't regret quitting; I regret not jumping rope-less sooner. (Yes, I just turned Batman into a Church lesson. Also, did you all notice how very French Revolution based the whole Batman series was? Thank you history degree for not letting me watch a movie without identifying historical similarities.)