𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝

𝟎𝟏.

𝟎𝟏.

𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚

𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬'𝑺 𝑨 𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑼𝑳𝑨𝑹 𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑫

               of dread that settles in the pit of your stomach when you realise - really realise - this is it. This is your life. No grand achievements, no standing ovations, not even an Instagram-worthy holiday snap to show off.

Just... this.

A desk crammed into the corner of an open-plan office that's supposed to feel 'collaborative' but feels more like a battery farm for the overworked. Grey cubicle walls stretched out in every direction, dotted with motivational posters that hadn't inspired anyone since the nineties.

My personal favourite?

"Success is a journey, not a destination."

Right. Except at this destination, every journey ended with another bloody spreadsheet.

I wasn't supposed to be here. Not like this. I used to think I was meant for something bigger, something that would light me up inside. Maybe I'd travel the world, closing million-pound deals while sipping cocktails on some crystal-blue beach. Or I'd be one of those people on LinkedIn, sharing how I turned my passion into a six-figure empire. I'd even settle for an artsy loft in Shoreditch, filled with spontaneous, interesting people who hosted dinner parties with cheese boards too fancy to pronounce.

But instead, here I was.

Staring at a spreadsheet so soul-crushingly dull, I started to wonder if I'd done something horrible in a past life. Honestly, it felt like the universe had tricked me.

I wasn't sure when I'd taken a wrong turn, but somewhere along the way, my dreams of a glamorous life had morphed into this monotonous grind. Rent, bills, more bills, and if you were lucky, a bank holiday to collapse on the sofa and binge-watch shows you couldn't even bring yourself to care about.

I'd never imagined my life would be this...

Ordinary.

It wasn't that I hated it. I just felt like I was floating through it - like I'd been handed a road map with no destination. The worst part? I couldn't even pinpoint when I started to feel like this. Like I was slowly sinking into a job I never wanted, at a company I couldn't care less about, with no lifeboat in sight.

What happened to the me that was supposed to do great things?

These days, the only thing I was great at was surviving. Surviving until payday, surviving another mind-numbing meeting, and surviving yet another awkward "catch-up" with Steve.