When They Don’t Know Your Story, They Don’t Know Your Value

I took every layoff personally.

Especially the last one — after almost eight years at a place where I thought I had proven myself.

I’d already noticed I was becoming one of the older ones in the room. I had an incredible boss, Misty, who saw something in me, shielded me when she could, and helped me land back on my feet afterward.

But when the layoffs came, I realized something that stuck with me:

It’s not always about how hard you work.

It’s about whether the right people know what you bring to the table.

I don’t think the people making the decisions knew my story.

Not really.

Not the value, not the impact. They saw a name on a list — not what it cost to get there.

After that, I knew whatever I did next had to be different.

I wanted independence.

I wanted to be the one who decided when my story ended, not someone else.

If people don’t know your story, they’ll write one for you.

And you probably won’t like the ending.