Yesterday, I got fired. I try to see it as a new beginning, an opportunity, but fear is stronger. I’m 52, mentally ill, and my options keep shrinking. The system isn’t built for people like me. The market doesn’t wait for those who fall. I know it. I feel it in my gut.

Right now, I miss the euphoria. The voice in my head that would tell me this is my moment, that I have more experience than ever, that the next project will be amazing, that I’m brilliant, and I’ll come out stronger. But that voice is gone.