I have been working at the same establishment for close to fifteen years. I have basically grown up with some of the people that I work with. When I first started, I needed help learning the ropes. One of my coworkers oftentimes is the mother figure. Currently,  I feel her “help” as unsolicited and as I mentioned to her today, she is “crossing my boundaries”. When I addressed an issue with her today, her response was “that I needed to get over it”.

I feel like I care about people and what happens to them and oftentimes, I do not feel like the same sentiment is returned. I am a listener, but people rarely ask how I am doing. I realize that I should not expect it. This is 100% the case at work. Today, I mentioned to that same co-worker that I had my first EKG (everything is ok – chest flutters), but she took the conversation directly to her experience. She did not ask why a thirty-nine year old woman needed an EKG. So I just walked off, basically.

I also feel frustrated that people make assumptions of your person based off of what other people know of you. I wish people would just ask me things in general. They go through my other co-workers who seem to like to speak for me. That is also frustrating. (I am a quiet person, btw – but obviously with a loud mind!).

I am not sure what advice I am seeking, maybe just a place to vent, as I vent to my husband but sometimes I feel as though I need other opinions on how to handle things. I have been unhappy at my job for quite sometime, but I feel like I am stuck. Like I am pigeonholed into this one thing that I no longer want to do. I oftentimes say that I am going to apply to a job, but then do not. I am pretty sure that I am not living my truest self. I do not know where to go from here.

Thanks for “listening”. Any advice on how to move forward would be greatly appreciated.