My career and the political climate

Today, I was inspired by a post I saw on LinkedIn written by a woman who had recently suffered a job loss due to the restructuring under the current president's administration. I had been contemplating a topic to discuss in my blog for several months, but I just couldn't find something new to share regarding my professional development. The post written by this individual was a light-bulb moment; and, in a country where many are suffering financially due to layoffs, defunding, and economic instability, I wanted to share my individual experience and pain caused by the current political climate.

As I mentioned on previous posts, I decided to leave my full-time job and become a freelancer at the end of 2023. I craved the independence of being able to pick the rates I would charge based on the complexity of projects. I also wanted freedom to schedule my work around my life instead of my life around my work. Pursuing this goal has certainly come at a price; I had to give up certain expenses to make sure I constantly had enough to cover my needs. I am also missing out on corporate perks, such as a retirement account that offers matching, the stability of a guaranteed monthly income, and benefits. However, in my personal case, the pros of becoming an freelancer far outweighed the cons. So, I decided to give it a shot.

As someone who had years of experience under her belt, as well as certificates in legal, business, and medical translations, I was ready to hit the ground running. I started small, with random small projects I found on Upwork. But, thanks to some wonderful professional connections and amazing friendships I had established through the years, I was referred to a few agencies that needed my linguistic abilities on a regular basis. I was, and continue to be, very blessed. However, there is no denying that my career has not been able to flourish to its maximum potential due to the agenda of a handful of insanely rich people that are consumed by ego, greed, and hatred.

By the end of 2024, I had certainly started to notice that my workload was getting lighter, while one of the agencies I worked for was constantly sending me work, another one had gone almost completely quiet. I had not put two and two together, so I immediately started blaming myself. Was the quality of my work below what they were expecting? Had I accidentally been unprofessional during electronic communication and had not even noticed? Had they found someone more affordable, and they just didn't have the heart to tell me? The anxiety was building up. Then, finally, after a few follow-up emails every couple of months (I did not want to seem desperate, but I also did not want them to think that I had ghosted them), I finally got a response from the woman who was in charge of assigning me work.

First, she thanked me for my patience and for continuing to make myself present. Then she went on to explain that, due to the political climate, they had to put all their projects on hold. By the way, this organization offers programs that support learners and their parents all across the country so they can thrive and succeed personally and academically. Due to the lack of funding in all public school districts, she informed me, their clients experienced tremendous budget cuts and could no longer afford to utilize this additional resource to help the American youth. Therefore, she would let me know when (if ever) they would need any materials translated.

Reality hit. It finally made sense. And I finally started relating to all those posts I have seen for months of people growing more and more desperate to feed their families and feel like competent professionals. Not only that, but it also felt a bit personal. As a minority, it is hard not to take behaviors that prevent people like me from finding stability and having a future in what is supposed to be the land of opportunity as a personal attack.

Before becoming a translator, I worked in a public school district, and most of the children that attend public schools are born from immigrants and even are immigrants themselves that are looking for a better life. The defunding of public academic institutions, the tariffs imposed that have, and will continue to cause, unbearable financial hardships to Americans are not just and incompetency problem. It is an core belief rooted in hatred, intolerance, greed, selfishness, and so many other behaviors that go against the most basic human moral standards. I cannot wrap my head around what is happening and what will happen in the next four years, but the one thing that I do know is that I will continue to support the underrepresented people in this country. All those who have come from unimaginable circumstances to try and build a better life for themselves and, above all, their children and future generations.