2018: I quit my first job working as a manager in a fast food restaurant to get my CDL to drive semi trucks. I fell for a mega-company schpeel and was abused by my employer, so I quit and got stuck with thousands of debt for CDL school. I also met a woman who became my girlfriend, and eventually found a better trucking company to work for and spent the whole year touring the United States and getting paid for it.
2019: I married that woman in March and we rode together in a truck cab around the country (until we despised each other in that tiny space and she dipped to go get a job back home). My mental health took a major hit being constantly alone in a cab all the time and it affected me, my family, and my friends.
2020: I quit driving over the road literally one month before lockdown started. The timing couldn't have been any better. The company I quit eventually crashed and was bought out and shut down by a different company. My new job involved driving a semi truck but still getting to go home every day (still there today). I financed my first car and let the wife have it so she could have something reliable to drive. stuff wasn't good at home though. The wife was cheating on me and I was always in a mood. I started therapy when the cheating came to light to try to re-learn how to socialize with others and love people again. We almost went for divorce, but I decided to put my best foot forward and make things work.
2021: I was ultimately unaffected by lockdown as an essential worker. I got the pokes and never got COVID. I was fixing myself and becoming a lot happier. I bought my first house. The wife was damaged though and decided she wanted to leave. We separated after Thanksgiving and she abandoned most of her belongings and her dog with me. I never could get myself to re-home the dog, and made her my own.
2022: The first few months were a period of recovery and finding myself again as I remembered how to be single. The wife wanted none of my belongings and just wanted an amicable divorce, which was finalized in May. I got back in the dating scene which was honestly quite a bit easier as an older dude instead of a zitty kid. I met a new woman who has made me the happiest I've ever been. I sold the financed car to buy an old pickup truck in an effort to tackle my debt.
2023: This has honestly been one of my best years in awhile. I paid off ALL of my debt besides my mortgage. My friends and I play with and repair decrepit old cars in my driveway. My lady and I talk openly about marriage. I have an engagement ring already but just haven't popped the question yet. I'm on great terms with my family, have an excellent credit score, and I'm making life moves. I honestly dislike my job now and keep my options open for new opportunities, but I'm blessed to be where I am and have my stuff and my relationships as testaments to all my trials and hard work that I've been through.
