By Michelle Kaye Malsbury

On the micro or personal scale I watched neighbor’s homes being foreclosed and the people who had occupied them moving away; businesses that had been in operation for decades closed their doors and no new ones replaced them; some friends who had been working saw decreased incomes due to decreased business and they struggled in earnest to keep afloat; others who had been working were merely let go.

Economics 101 teaches us - as goes America’s economy so usually goes the world. That said, when America’s economy was put on life support last fall, many other nation’s economies also felt the pinch. Reverberations on a macro scale.

For the past couple of years I have been working on my PhD. I attended school via loans and grants. Last fall, when my loans were not paid on time (some banking debacle), I fretted that I was also being cut off from my lifelong passion and dream. Eventually, my loan came through, but not before I regretfully dropped two courses – the impact of lack of funds. I had been lucky enough to be able to withdraw with no penalty to my near perfect grade point average. I figured that because I had withdrawn from those two courses within the allowable time limits, no tuition would be due. I figured the payments – though late - would cover that mistake, and didn’t give it another thought.

After consulting with my departmental chair, I took an official leave of absence, to see how I might be able to get through life in this ever changing economic landscape and somehow be able to manage school too. I desperately needed to find a job. I applied to a variety of governmental agencies and to our new President’s website as well. I applied to schools looking for teaching or research assistants. I posted my resume on Monster and Upladders.com. I perused the New York Times wanted ads regularly and applied for all vacancies that were of interest and/or for which I was amply qualified.

Several months later and I’ve been unable to secure paid and gainful employ. The competition for jobs of any sort is fierce. I have received some letters stating that I was amply qualified for the position but there was someone else just that bit more qualified than me.

This fall will mark a year away from school. I’d planned to re-enroll for the courses I’d had to drop but was informed that due to some admin processes (the funds having been returned by the school as I had not attended the courses), I still had debts outstanding - for courses I’d never sat.

Had I the means to afford this education I would gladly pay for past tuition, but I cannot afford to pay that tuition now or any time in the not too distant future, unless or until I find a paying job. So I sit in a catch twenty two situation wondering what should come first, the class or the payment.

This simple trial of life story serves to remind us of how every life in the USA has been touched in some form or fashion by the dire economic downturn. Not just any life, in this particular circumstance but specifically mine. If there’s some comfort to be found in my experience it’s that there’s safety in numbers. Many of us share the same boat; know, you are not alone!






Words © Michelle Kaye Malsbury, BSBM, MM 2009 (all rights reserved)
Michelle's written accomplishments include five books, "Three Years With Adonis" among them and over one hundred and fifty published articles. Other literary works include three screenplays.
Her travels have taken her from Europe through the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and across much of the United States.   You can find out more about Michelle on her site: michellemalsbury.com.


Freelanced writing for unheardwords.com.

© editor@unheardwords.com 2009 (all rights reserved)