I left the priesthood and do not know what to put under occupation
Dear Delyara, I was a priest for nineteen years. I left after losing faith slowly enough that no single crisis explains it. Now I am forty-seven, living in a rented room, applying for ordinary jobs. Forms ask for occupation. I still almost write priest. My entire adult résumé is sermons, pastoral care, funerals, administration, community work—skills that apparently become vague when removed from the collar. Friends tell me I can retrain. They send links. I appreciate them. What I miss is not only belief. I miss waking knowing what kind of person everyone expected me to be. People brought me babies, marriages, dying parents, secrets. Now nobody asks me anything more serious than whether I can cover a shift at the bookstore. That should be relief. Sometimes it is. Other days, freedom feels like being released into a city without an address.