Shaking My Money Maker

. . . well, not quite. Oh, shut-up! It's not that bad of a title.

Going to college is not easy, especially if you don't have a lot of money and the government has put you in a place where your husband is making just enough in order not to qualify for financial aid. It's stupid. I recently found out there are other things I can do, but we'll see if I actually do them.

One of those things is getting a job. I don't know how kids do it these days. Have a job and go to school and study. Sounds like a lot of Fs if you ask me. Seriously, how do they do it? Well, this is what I've learned...they don't.

At first I thought that maybe I was just one oldish woman living in an ageist society because I couldn't handle taking more than 3 or 4 classes. I sat next to a girl who was taking 6 classes during the quarter--6! How does she eat, sleep, play, or commute and socialize? Turns out she dropped half of the classes later on in the game because she wasn't doing so well.

People view success in different ways.  For example, taking 6 classes, having 8 kids, having work when no one does, staying after hours and working late and being put up in a hotel and waking up to the sound of an email coming from the smart phone. I don't mind anyone doing these things. Not at all.

It's what I [emphasis here] want to do that I think bothers other people. When I was nineteen years old I had a job working in the city and I got paid pretty damn good for my age. However, (and that's a big "however") I didn't know it. I thought everyone had great jobs. I think that not knowing how good it was was a good thing, too. If I had known I might have been really arrogant and looked down at people . . . because that's what people do when they are nineteen and make that much money--nah, I probably would've never done that. I miss the money, but I don't miss the stress. I miss the bonuses...oh those bonuses were awesome. I miss the getting dressed up for fancy dinners...all good stuff if you're a lawyer. If you're a secretary, well you've probably got tennis shoes on with heels in your purse ready to go, a guest list, travel itineraries for 8 visiting attorneys, phone numbers for ground transportation, a sous chef waiting at your side for instructions and favors to wrap and give to each guest, and then some.

What I want to do is just live a healthy and chill life, but at the same time use what was given to me by nature, my talent. Problem is I don't know my talent. I was stuck for 7-8 years as a secretary and I feel like I'm starting from scratch. I gotta figure that out first in order to shake my money maker--don't get smart with me. This is my version of success--doing something with the talent I have. For those kids in college that take 6 classes, good for you.