A few days later, Brian was back at work. Although he was still feeling low, the routine of work helped him cope and get out of bed in the mornings. He went about his tasks diligently, assisting customers when needed but mainly focusing on managing the inventory. This position had taken time and effort to achieve, and he took pride in keeping things orderly.

His supervisor came up to him and started to complain about inventory and product location. Brian told him that he would take care of the concerns and left to get started. He managed things quickly and went on to other tasks.

Brian took his lunch in the break room. He knew most of the people there, and sat and talked with another worker that started when he did, Stanley but everyone called him Stan. They talked about store gossip and changes to the benefits that came with the new year.

Stan was older, and retired. He went back to work for something to do, not really for the money. He only worked part time, but he seemed to work often when Brian was working. Stan had always talked about Brian being a hard worker, and was even a reference for Brian when he applied for his current position.

Stan asked Brian how he was and made a comment about Brian looking sad. Brian shared that he and Sarah had broken up and how he was struggling with the future. He talked about the fight with Sarah and a little about his childhood and how he didn’t think he could do it.

Stan looked him in the eye and told him he knew that he could do it. He shared things about Brian’s work that illustrated that Brian had the skills. Brian listened but still didn’t feel that he could do it.

Brian and Stan returned to work, but Brian kept thinking about what Stan had said. When Brian punched out that day he saw information on the employee bulletin board about the store education program. He took a picture with his phone and thought he would look into it later.

Weeks passed, then months. Brian was at home, going through his phone, and found the picture he had taken months before. There was a website, and he decided to just read about it. He went online to find out more.

As he read, he found out that the company would pay for classes in business and they also offered an internship program for management. He found out that as long as he worked in the company for a year after graduation, he wouldn’t have to pay any of the month back so the education would be free. He also found out that he could continue working while he was in school.

Brian looked at jobs that he would be eligible for with the classes, and additional benefits on the website. He was able to find information from people who had been through the program, and what they had gone on to do with the skills. It sounded like people were more successful after completing the program.

Brian wasn’t very good at school and wondered if this would be different. He had to admit that he had taken some training for his job and did better with it than he ever did in history or other classes in high school.

After reading the information online, Brian decided that he should think about it. The idea that this could help him made him feel less trapped, like he had options.

A couple weeks later, Brian decided to talk with someone about the program and try to apply. His confidence was still low, but he decided he didn’t have anything to lose. He applied, and waited. Would this be what he needed? He didn’t know, but he had to try.