But it was nice and the leadership seemed to care for their residents. I hoped that it would become a job that would allow me to use my nursing skills to create a career. Unfortunately, after several months, that job became a nightmare. Some of the trauma from my childhood started to replay itself. For example, I started hearing rumors that I was sleeping with several of the staff members. Rumors started to swirl that I was being immoral to get ahead in the company with the men on staff. Next, some of the employees started to gossip and slander me behind my back. The slander grew crueler and more intense until my car was vandalized by an employee. The most painful part was when several of the senior leadership started to viciously accuse me verbally and in writing, of misconduct and immoral activity, which lead to my resignation. They went so far as to file false reports with the governing board that would cause me to eventually lose my dream of becoming a licensed nurse. Their accusations caused me to lose the dream I had worked the past 6 years to fulfill. Because of the gossip, slander, and false accusations, I was losing the career I dreamed of. THEIR ACCUSATIONS CAUSED ME TO LOSE THE DREAM I HAD WORKED THE PAST 6 YEARS TO FULFILL.
I was being accused, tried, and convicted by a group of people who never gave me a chance to share my side of these events. Many nights I would go to sleep, silently arguing in my mind trying to convince someone that I was innocent. The painful emotions of these offenses kept replaying themselves over and over. My heart was growing angrier and angrier. I was becoming sicker and weaker. Finally, I reached out to a lawyer with the written evidence I had showing my employer's misconduct. The lawyer assured me that we had a case, and I was 99% guaranteed to get a large settlement. All I had to do is sue them. I was more than tempted. There is one other thing you should know about me. I grew up in a family system that often retold the stories of people who had mistreated and offended them. At most family gatherings someone would bring up a past offense and get the whole bunch of adults worked up all over again. Tempers would flare, word curses would be spoken, vengeance would smolder, and bitterness would grow. That was my example of how adults acted. Reliving old offenses was the way I learned to deal with offense.
TNT MAGAZINE | 27
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