What a Difference a Year Makes

It was one year ago that I was unceremoniously, and illegally, fired from my job by Tricia McGarry. She made a slew of false and ridiculous accusations (including how ALL of my clients hated me and wanted me off their accounts- all of those same clients would call me personally within the week to offer me jobs, or offer to help me find a job). At that point in time our paychecks were seriously late. We hadn't been paid in full in several weeks. By Utah law, she had 24 hours to pay me in full. It took her over a week to get me my check. Even then it was short several hundred dollars, and it bounced.
If you have been following this blog for the past year you know that I still have not been paid. I've been to court where I tried to sue her, but her lawyer made up some total lies about a claim I supposedly had through a different system (I didn't, but I do now!), and my case was dismissed. The state has now passed on my claim (and the claims of my co-workers) to a collections agency. I won't go into great detail on how that is the biggest disappointment ever. We're still looking at years before I may or may not ever get the money she owes me.
This experience over the past year has taught me a lot. I've learned that there really and truly are totally dishonest people in this world. And people who do not care in the least about how their selfish actions effect other people. If just once my old employer had apologized for the situation, and explained how the company was bankrupt, I could have accepted things, walked away, and never asked for my money. But instead, she's lied to us, avoided us, and even gone out of her way to threaten us and hurt us. Its truly ridiculous.
My faith and desire to trust other people has dwindles significantly. I used to believe that for the most part, all people were good, but that some people are just misunderstood. I didn't really think that there were truly bad people out there who want to hurt you.
The stupid part of this is that I have been hurt in the past by people who wanted to hurt me. But those were people with grudges, or were operating under a misunderstanding. I can forgive those people (no matter how stupid they are, and how much they hurt me). But this is the first time I have ever been hurt by someone who had no reason to lash out at me. Its a strange and unfortunate feeling.
One of the unexpected side effects of this experience has been a significant change in my political leanings. I have been a libertarian for many years, but rarely voted as one. The Libertarian Party rarely offers up a strong candidate. After my dealings with the state, and realizing what a strong big business political policy can do to individuals, I'm more and more a Libertarian every day.
Other unexpected side effects have included making new friends, and finding which friends would be there for me in a bad situation. I was forced to learn more about the welfare system, the court system, the banking system and unemployment laws than I ever cared to know.
Have I come out on top? Am I a better person for this hardship? Part of me hates to say yes. I don't want to give my ex-employer that ammo in her arsenal that somehow I am better off because she fired me. But, I will say this. When she fired me she told me she wasn't surprised I hadn't made it far in life, and that she didn't think I would ever get far. She made up some crap about how my work style and personal affairs would keep me at the bottom of the food chain professionally.
Well, since then, I have doubled my salary, and worked my way up to a much fancier job title. I've moved out of my little (but nice) 1 bedroom apartment, and into a beautiful home. I'm on my way to becoming a foster parent, something that never could have happened while working for her and her ridiculous hours. Some of my best professional contacts are those same clients she claimed wanted nothing to do with me. And I haven't had one panic attack worrying about whether or not she was going to fly off the handle over something stupid.
So yes, I'd say I'm better off now than I was a year ago. But not because she fired me. But because I'm rid of her.