By Judy Young

I made more money in 2019 than I ever had before. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was really building something—like I could actually create a future for myself that wasn’t paycheck-to-paycheck.

That feeling lasted… about a month into 2020.

January came, and I took a pre-planned vacation, which meant I didn’t earn my usual full-month income. February hit, and flight schedules were already thinning—probably because whispers of COVID-19 were starting to circulate. There weren’t many extra trips to pick up to supplement my pay.

In March, I did everything I could to hustle and make the most of it… but even then, it wasn’t much.

By April, flights were barely operating, and the airline I work for—as a flight attendant—was asking us to voluntarily take Leaves of Absence to help the company survive. I didn’t want to take a leave. But the reality? I’m based in San Francisco and live in Portland, Oregon. I have to fly to get to work. And we went from 6–8 daily flights between PDX and SFO… to one. Sometimes that flight got canceled, too.

Even if I could get to work, where would I stay?
Hotels were shut down.
Public transportation wasn’t running.
Crash pads—shared homes flight crews use—were closing one by one.
Even our crew lounge was locked.

So… was I going to camp out in the airport indefinitely? It truly felt like I had no choice.

Still, I made a conscious decision: if I was going to be on a three-month Leave of Absence from May through July, I was going to make the best of it.

(And let’s be honest—I only worked one day in April, so it felt like four months off instead of three!)

I took online classes. I decluttered my home. I reconnected with friends I usually didn’t have time for.
It was strange and uncertain, and it was also a gift.
Same situation—two sides of the same coin.
As bad as it was… as good as it was.
As good as it was… as bad as it was.

There’s light and shadow in every situation. I felt backed into a corner, but still chose to rise and make the most of it. Truth is, I wasn’t forced to take a leave. It just felt that way.

I went back to work in August and September… only to find out I’d be laid off on October 1st.

So here I am.
It has happened.
It is happening.
And I’m okay.

I’m choosing to see the good in it.
Just like with my Leave of Absence—I’ll keep learning. I’ll keep growing. I’ll stay open to new opportunities. I’ll find ways to make life better.

Here’s what I know:
The level of pain I could’ve felt from this layoff is equal to the level of JOY I’m capable of feeling as a result of what I create next.
That is the beauty of this principle.

This is the Law of Polarity.

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