An Ohio woman was able to turn a major negative into a life-changing positive after being abruptly fired from her job.

Many of us live in constant fear of being unceremoniously fired from their jobs. A 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. workers commissioned by online CV and cover letter writing platform Zety found 58 percent were afraid of getting fired.

Mariah Witzberger, 25, from Columbus, experienced that nightmare scenario a couple of months ago when she was suddenly let go from her marketing job with little in the way of warning.

“I was blindsided by it,” Witzberger told Newsweek. “I had a meeting put on my calendar the day before and I asked my boss what it was about but she wouldn’t tell me. I walked into the meeting and they told me that my job was being moved to Poland effective immediately.”

What made the situation worse was the manner in which it was handled. “They asked me if I wanted someone to go and box up my stuff for me. Which upset me because they didn’t want me to go tell my friends that sat near me what happened because they didn’t want to ’cause a scene,'” she said.

It’s the kind of scenario most would dread, but where some might have seen doom and gloom, Witzberger saw an opportunity. “I love life and people and am always trying to make the most out of every situation,” she said.

Under the terms of her firing, she would receive a severance package. HR also asked her to cancel the flight she was booked on to attend a business event in Switzerland. However, there was just one small problem with that last part. “The flight was non-refundable,” she explained.

After a little back and forth, her former employee backed down. “So I got to keep it. Since my schedule was now wide open, why wouldn’t I go?” Suddenly, Witzberger was jetting off for what would prove to be the summer of a lifetime.

“I have many friends around Europe from my previous business trips and travels so I was lucky enough to be able to stay with them for most of my trip,” she explained. “I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Norway, and Malta! And even got to see the Taylor Swift show in Zurich.”

It’s no exaggeration to say the firing changed her life for the better. “Being laid off was honestly such a blessing because I really did not like my job and this was my opportunity to be free and find something I was passionate about,” she said. “Now I am moving to Barcelona to get my master’s degree in branding.”

That decision to seek new adventures and follow her passions was also motivated by some difficult times in her family life. “My dad passed away last September and that really put into perspective that life is way too short to do anything that isn’t setting your soul on fire,” she said.

“So I did some soul searching and wanted to realign my career into something more creative and finding a program abroad was perfect for my interests.”

Witzberger has been regularly posting updates about her adventures on TikTok under the handle mariahwitzberger. She hopes her story inspires others to realize they are so much more than just their jobs.

“I hope people are inspired to take everything that happens to them in this life and spin it to make the most of it,” she said. “Life isn’t happening to us, it’s happening for us! And when we change our mindset to see the bright side of every situation, that’s when things get really interesting.”

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