Ask a Busy Person- But Don't Ask ME!

Happy Easter! What does Easter mean to the average new age family? Mainly gorging on ham, pork and turkey, getting chocolaty and sugary treats, and trying to convince your toddlers that, yes, a bunny can hop from house to house carrying a Sac full of eggs, even without a poseable thumb.

I got to experience a big family over Easter. My own family is so small and somewhat fragmented. Stuarts family is literally enormous. They get together for birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, weddings- you name it and they will all come together. Easter dinner was made up of 18 grandparents, aunts, uncles, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I won't say it wasn't fun, but when you grow up with a single Aunt and Uncle and a single cousin, the family events are hardly chaotic. Not to mention it is entirely up to Jordana and I to carry on the family name. At nearly 25, I am the youngest existing member of the Matthews family, or the Humphreys line (Mom's) for that matter. It is amazing how much more magical holidays become when you have little kids to lie to. With Santa, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy, and leprechauns only whispers in my memory, I can't be blamed if I feel some jealousy towards the young mothers that make up some of my friends. I am not talking 16 & Pregnant here, but early to mid 20's.

So the absolute worst case scenario has come to fruition. Stu and I are both unemployed, with a shitbox for a car, rent looming in the near future, unpaid phone and cable bills and no prospects to speak of. Ok maybe it isn't all that bleak, we have both had interviews recently, but I am not optimistic about the job market at the moment. I just don't want to be added to the pool of well education twenty somethings being forced to work in retail stores and liquor stores and grocery stores. I will be the first to spout my opinion about education inflation and how jobs that didn't used to require a university education, now ask for it, AND THEN SOME.

But I am not willing to go back to school. I am done. Worn out. bled dry of brain power. Maybe not that much. I found university stupid-simple. Overrated. But I simply won't front the cash for another useless, pointless 2 year diploma or certificate. I already have enough debt to speak for. And what did it buy me? Unemployment, with credentials to buy me a sweet secretarial position. The LIQUOR STORE would offer better benefits. I know guys with excellent degrees that are being wasted. Why? BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS ONE! University degrees are a dime a dozen. Why hire someone with a U. Degree when you can hire a person with an MBA or a Doctorate. They are in the same boat. My sister, who works in a big corporation says they are hiring MBA's for $30,000 per year salaried positions. BECAUSE THEY CAN! These guys have my sympathy. Instead of my thirty thousand of debt, they have sixty and seventy thousand dollars hanging over their heads.

What is the solution? Sure, they can make entrance into Universities and Colleges more difficult (leaving the poor kids with mid seventy grades to work in the department stores and Mac Milks). But that wouldn't be all that fair either. University just shouldn't be made the logical path for EVERYONE after High School. There is a real demand for Trade workers in the economy. Learn a trade and you an make some sweet cash. Right now though, education isn't about the smartest and brightest students getting the highest level of education. It is really about how wealthy you are. If you can afford that MBA then you are ahead of the game. Sure we the government spouts equality and equal opportunity, but this is still a world where the Rich get Richer and the poor get poorer and the middle class are still treading water. So Richie Rich gets the education, even though he is a puddle, and ends up making tons of cash. Is he the best for the job? Absolutely not. But since when was the world fair? The best guy for the job almost never gets it.

So as it stands, I will keep putting out my resume for positions I am under qualified for and Stu will keep doing the same. As my dream of a new car fades, I will use this new free time for self betterment! BAH! Ok, I will tell myself I will work out more, paint and maybe send more letters, but I have learned that the less you have to do, the less you accomplish. They say if you want something done, ask a busy person. SO....don't ask me :)