Courtesy of Mekela Watt
- Mekela Watt is a 29-year-old in Bermuda Dunes, California, who was laid off in April 2024.For 300 days, she was unemployed, worried about how she would pay for food, rent, and bills.She has just started a new job and shares what she most looks forward to.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mekela Watt. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I worked as a temp client services associate at a global music company for nearly two years when I got laid off. Since I was a temp, I didn't get any severance or benefits, but in California, temp workers qualify for six months of unemployment.
That first month of unemployment was a huge relief. I had hated that job — just logging on was triggering. But by the second month, although I was glad not to work a job I hated, I started worrying about how I would pay my bills.
I was unemployed for 300 days before finally securing a job in February 2025 as an Administrative Coordinator. I'm looking forward to these things with my new job.
Not worrying about bills
I have multiple health issues and payments for those issues I've had to ignore over the past 10 months. For example, right before I was laid off, I had an MRI that cost $500, and I haven't been able to pay that bill yet.
Rent was another expense we had to worry about. I thought we would be evicted from our house several times, especially when my husband wasn't working. Living with this fear kept me up at night. If we were evicted, we would have no housing options.
Not having to rely on GoFundMe to stay afloat
In August 2024, after months of unemployment, I set up a GoFundMe. I started it after we received a notice that our rent was going up, and I wasn't sure how we would manage.
It was embarrassing and a little defeating to set it up, but we had to survive. We received a little over $9,000, which significantly helped us from August to November.
I've never lived paycheck to paycheck, so taking out most of my savings to pay for bills has been worrying. Our financial padding kept getting thinner and thinner. I knew that we were close to having nothing to fall back on.
Not applying to jobs
Even though I had done everything people told me to do when applying for jobs, spending hours tailoring my résumé for applications and trying to form a personal connection, I was still getting endless rejection letters.
It made me question my worth and ability. I remember thinking if I was any good and asking myself if I was fired because of my quality of work.
I can keep my side hustle, and my husband doesn't have to work overtime
For years prior, I had resold pre-loved clothing. It was a fun little side hustle. When I tried to scale it to full time work while I was off a job, I realized it wasn't sustainable. It was no longer fun. I can keep doing it for fun now that I have a paycheck.
I'm also excited that my husband doesn't have to work overtime for weeks on end. When our GoFundMe money ran out, my husband worked constantly to pay our bills and was always exhausted.
I'm looking forward to being able to sleep again. For so long, I've fallen asleep, waking through the night worried about money.
During my unemployment, I received many well-meaning platitudes from people, such as, "This is God's plan. He'll provide." None of it helped.
I would have loved someone to tell me my worth wasn't tied to employment status and that surviving unemployment was proof of my resilience.
I cannot wait to be thriving rather than just surviving.
