Black Friday Reset After a Thanksgiving That Actually Felt Thankful
Thanksgiving was one of the first times in a long while when I felt genuinely thankful for where things were heading. Yes, I still need a job and yes, it has been almost five months since my last one. But I also had a close but no cigar moment that left me frustrated and hopeful at the same time. It felt like maybe things were finally aligning and that I was ready for a team and a culture where I could contribute and grow.
Two weeks ago I got a call from a health agency I had interviewed with. The HR woman explained that the team had met with finance and realized they did not have the Q4 budget or bandwidth to onboard a junior employee. Then she said something that stayed with me. If the role had remained open, I would have been their choice, and if it reopens in mid January or February, I will be the first call. Hearing that softened the disappointment and made the whole thing feel more like momentum than a setback. On the subway to Grand Central I even got a call from another HR contact who said her team might have a few entry level openings in the new quarter and asked me to send an updated resume. A small thing, but it kept me moving.
I asked if I could have done anything differently to make the team certain I was the one they wanted. She said no. If the role had stayed open, I would have been selected. That answer stuck with me. It felt like confirmation that the last two years of networking outside Porter Novelli were finally starting to pay off. One step closer. I still needed time to settle into my new apartment, get into a routine with new caretakers, and actually sleep there long enough for it to feel like home. Somewhere in between leftovers and online shopping, I started watching The Beast In Me and accidentally stayed up way too late. I finished the whole thing in two days. It was the first show I have truly binged in six months, maybe a full year. I forgot how nice it feels to get pulled into something and just let it carry you for a while. No job boards, no Excel trackers, no agency websites. Just a good story and a rare reminder that you are allowed to unplug without feeling guilty.
My grandma arrived with her usual chocolate turkeys. We always joke that she stores hundreds in her closet and recycles them every year. This time we flipped one over and saw an expiration date of 2027. I gasped and said “ohhh shit these turkeys are fresh!”. For once they were not attic rescues. We filled our stomachs with turkey and our heads with conversation that stretched all the way to the end of the night. Everyone was out the door before 10pm even though it felt like 2am. Black Friday was spent ordering sweaters from Zara, J Crew, and Quince, plus a great pair of dark blue jeans from Abercrombie Kids. A win for the closet and a dent in the bank account for someone whose last job ended five months ago. I even bought a few pairs of sweatpants because I am genuinely terrified of what February and March will do to my flesh and bones once they’re outside, exposed to the kind of cold that creates goosebumps the size of mountains.
Going back to the city is not a moment to complain. It is a moment to be thankful. I have a support system helping me cover rent in a great part of Manhattan for a full year so I can network, interview, and soon enough work in the city I love. I have two caretakers who are mature, enthusiastic, and hardworking so I can live independently. I have three year old pup Roxy waiting for me, who will probably join me in February once I have a routine. I have nearly three dozen health PR applications tracked in an Excel sheet and plan to reach back out to agencies with personalized emails that remind them why I chose their teams and why I fit their work. Mid January marks a new quarter for agencies and feels like the right moment for assistant account executives, account coordinators, project assistants, and associate account executives to be hired across Manhattan.
Being in your mid-twenties is strange and good at the same time. You start to see everyone’s paths unfold, from the colleges they chose to the careers they somehow landed in. One of my cousins even runs a bag company. You no longer have to write college essays and can spend that time reading something you actually enjoy or finally watching the TV series everyone keeps talking about. You find a career that fits your skills instead of relying on high school subjects that had nothing to do with how you’d eventually make a living. I never used pre-calc or physics at Porter Novelli. College felt much more aligned with what I wanted to do and who I was trying to become.
But no one talks enough about the days in between. The figuring things out. The shifts in friendships. Realizing that the people you grew up with become more like memories than daily constants. You call them on holidays or birthdays. I have a large family across New York City but making new friends as a young adult is hard. I tried apps like 222 which works like a dating app but for friendship and matches you with five people who share your energy. Hit or miss but worth trying. I have even browsed Meetup where some events are fun and others feel strange or vaguely Craigslist coded. You search for the diamonds in the rough, maybe two out of ten end up being hits.
Thanksgiving in the woods was a needed reset. But I am excited to get back to New York and make a habit out of wheeling through Central Park, something I never had access to living downtown in college and after. Do not forget your hot coffee and bagel from your favorite NYC spot and follow along the Wheel Deal as we head into a new year. Mid January brings a fresh quarter, fresh openings, and the chance to land the right role at the right time. I am ready for it and excited to see where things go in 2026.
