Hello Seniors,
I want to share with you a story, my story, when I was a young girl seeking a great job.
Before I continue with my story, I would like to define, what The American Dream is and how it connects with a great job.
This is the premise:
1 Get a great Education
2 Find a job that mirrors that Education
3 Work Hard
4 Accomplish “The American Dream”
This is a great premise if there were the least obstacles in your way to accomplish this feat.
Here is my story:
I graduated from Lowell High in the 50’s. When we as graduates threw our hats in the air and thought about this premise. It’s going to happen! Rah! Rah! Rah!
What did happen was very different. My parents were Immigrants who came to America, with only a small bag and what they wore on their backs, from another country.
They arrived in America and became, American Citizens. Very proudly, I might add.
They settled and now married with six children, they had all to do to pay bills and hold onto a home.
When my sisters became of working age to leave school and go to work, they did. Some worked in a shoe factory and one worked in a laundry.
When I graduated from high school they were still living in my parents home except one. The eldest sister married and left the nest.
My parents had no money to send me to college. So, I had to think of a way to follow that premise and secure my future. My brother and I were the only two to graduate from high school.
I didn’t want to work in a shoe factory or sweat in a laundry although, my sisters had no choice. They sacrificed to help the family.
At that time, there were friends of mine who I started school with and were, literally, in the same boat.
Jobs For Women
We tried finding jobs, I even tried the shoe factory for about a week. A sweat factory and you got paid by the piece. I threw my hands up in the air and said, this is not for me and walked out.
I met with my friends, who were like my sisters for we went through 12 years of school together.
We were all bummed out as to what to do with our very lives. Just sitting there, one popped up and said, “we should work for the government.”
We all looked at each other and all together said, “HOW?”
She went on to say, we take a civil service test and go from there. See what is available.
We all graduated with pretty good marks, so tests didn’t bother us in the least.
We made a bet as to who is going to get the highest mark. This is what we did in the lower grades up until high school. So, we made the appointment and were on our way to Boston to take the test.
Every day we would check the mail box. The first letter came to one of my friends then the others arrived. We were all accepted.
We went down to the common where we watched some great ball games every Sunday and ran around like a bunch of nutsos. So happy, but reality quickly set in. The letter also said, to report to this address in Washing, D.C. in 30 days.
One of my friends mentioned the fact that since we are leaving in 30 days, we have to tell our parents and get ready to go.
I must tell you, it was hard to tell them, and for my mother, twice as hard. A young girl in those days should be thinking about getting married not running away to some unknown place. My explanation was not listened to, and so, I said no more other than I was leaving at the end of the month.
The Journey of My Life
Some of us had a boy friend or boys that were just friends but the whole concept of staying in Lowell was too much to bear. So, with the boys left behind, we left for Washington, D.C.
Washington, as you know, is a place of History. It is also very expensive to live there. Unless you are a part of the elite, you struggle to meet expenses. I wasn’t there for very long.
After getting a taste of Washington, I decided to come home and get married.
Jobs were not plentiful after I was married. We didn’t have much and ended up in someone’s attic apartment. It was very small and dingy.
My first child was born soon after and we had to move to a larger place. Meanwhile, I started looking for work.
My husband was working in a garage, and sometimes he wouldn’t work at all. I started to see trouble with finances and my marriage.
In looking for work I came upon a firm who dealt with government contracts. My time spent working for the government in D.C. gave me an in to this giant firm.
My dream? I wanted to have a home of my own. It took a few years working for this company, but
it gave me a home and then some.
Needless to say, my marriage ended, but, I managed to raise my children with the help of my Angel Mother and a sister that had a tremendous love for my children.
Her name, Stella Savaris. Her name in Greek was Stauvroola. My kids, along with some of their cousins, couldn’t say the word and they ended up calling her (Boolia). After a while we all called her Boolia. She was my favorite sister.
I was fortunate to work for that same company until I retired at the age of 62, almost 63. I felt that, after 38 years, I wanted to do something else with my life.
I looked for so many ways to keep my mind working and alive. I started writing poetry. My poetry was first, and I put that on a website with my daughters help.
Then, for a little while, I went to UMass Lowell and took classes in art. I had a great teacher, and he taught me well. I have several art works in oil, and I put those online as well.
I also began to write, and I have written many books. These are all online now and available through Amazon, but some will be made available for download directly from my other site. In fact, all my works are available on my main site: Books by Penelope.com.
Why so many things? Because I am a true believer that the mind has no limits. Who wants to just sit around and do nothing?
I am now Blogging, and I want to tell you, Seniors, that Blogging and helping Seniors is, to me, my greatest accomplishment.
In the course of research, I have found that many Seniors are looking for work in today’s world, and I wish to share a resource that my daughter and I use. This “job” opportunity can be a supplement, a challenge or as a hobby that you just want to do it for fun. Take my word for it, it works. You can earn money online.
If you have an area of interest, such as gardening, birding, photography, or cooking, you can write about it. It’s easy. Find your niche, and work on it. It will pay off and give you what you want.
You can even begin for free, and there’s enough lessons to get you started. Please read my daughter’s Review Article about Wealthy Affiliate, then you can decide whether to test out the site for yourself.
Actually, this is a resource for all people of all ages, but I’m looking out for my Seniors.
Happy Blogging!
