Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My Personal Recession Depression

A few more bits of my story to start off the forum …
I have always loved teaching, but I also loved science, so I ended up very happily working in research laboratories, trying to discover more about cancer, hemophilia, and macular degeneration, among other subjects over the years. Most of the positions I held did have a training element involved, of new researchers and medical interns, so I really did have it all! Later I went into biotechnology where I often again had a training role, since the FDA requires constant updating and refreshing of all the personnel involved in making our medicines. Then for a number of reasons I finally decided to act on my dream of owning my own business. So I started a small tutoring company, and eventually had another part time tutor working with me.

Then the collapse of it all. Now I feel like I lose another small part of myself almost every day, as I struggle to find students whose parents are afraid to spend money on a tutor when they might be laid off next week. Then many months ago I heard part of a man’s story on NPR, about how he lost his job and then his water heater broke. He and his family had to take cold showers, since there was no money to fix the heater. Suddenly my mostly broken refrigerator didn’t seem as bad as before – it keeps somewhat cold even in the summer, enough so that I can have milk for my coffee most of the time – a daily luxury! In the winter the freezer even works a bit, cutting down on grocery store trips. That is heaven compared to no hot water! So that story put my problems into perspective. For the moment I am almost lucky! How long that will last is unknown – my water heater is pretty old, too. But hearing that and other stories has helped to keep me going, and even be a bit thankful. That is really important when I have lost so much.

So that is what this Recessionaires’ Forum is hopefully going to be about – sharing stories and maybe help and giving us all another reason to keep trying. I know the name is kind of cutsey, but why not proudly take on a term that describes the real reason we are hurting – not our own actions, but factors mostly out of our control. Guilt from being broke is not helpful, and an acceptance that we did not get here all on our own may get us through another day with hope that tomorrow just may be better, as the economy improves.

One of the many amenities of life that I no longer have is home Internet access. I am still lucky that I can till type this up at home on my laptop, and then I can use my sister’s Internet to connect. I heard another story about a homeless person who advocates for the homeless quite effectively using just libraries, so again I am very lucky so far. But anyway, that means I do not get online everyday, so please do not be offended if a few days go by without a response to your comment. I will still cherish your story, even if I read it a little late.
Hope to hear some of your stories soon …