Fortunate

It is about 00:00 EST. I should've been sleeping at 22:00, but I can't. Also, notice that I'm writing times in military time. Got to get used to that system.

There is only one point at the moment.

1) As my training in Maryland comes toward an end, I have realized something about myself, that I have found myself at my age to be very fortunate. I have a decent job with benefits. Within a year, I have a steady income to begin moving out of the homestead. For a 24 year old single male, it is unfortunately a rare accomplishment at these economic times.

I was reading an article in the New York Times where in a few months, those unemployed people will soon run out of their unemployment benefits. There is currently a bill in Congress that will extend that deadline; however, how long can our own government can sustain this path? Many average Americans are asking, "Where are the jobs?" It feels like I can see what may potentially happen to this country if jobs are not created soon. We will find a new class of poor people in this nation who were once working hard for themselves and their families and are now depending on their lives on charity and public support. That's not to say that we should never be too proud to take advantage of welfare when needed, but to a majority of Americans who up to this point were able to sustain themselves, asking for help is hard, and most definitely humiliating.

I did not find myself on public support when I was unemployed, but I did find myself on the support of my own two parents. I consider my family the lucky ones out of this recession. They both have stable jobs that are not on the threat of any layoffs. They are still able to pay the bills. They budgeted the heck out of everything to pay the mortgage, and they were definitely smart enough to not give in to any shady deals with the banks. However, I did feel like my unemployment did add to their burden. I did my best to beat that hard into my head. I only asked for what was necessary like food, some decent clothes, etc. My only "unecessary" expenses were the trips to SoCal from time to time, but I think my mom and dad knew how close I became to everyone down there. It was probably good for my sanity to take the trip. I took a couple of classes at the community college to keep my mind active. However, majority of my time is being at home, bumming around here and there, trying to improve my life a bit by eating better and exercising more. On the other hand, I was scared for the future.

I'm not so much afraid about what will happen in the future now as I was back then. I will admit that I'm still a bit nervous. I don't know what this job critical decisions will take me in 10 years or so, but I am a bit more empowered and confident by this experience. I hope to never forget what I have experienced during my last year of doing pretty much nothing. This is an experience that I will pass on to my kids in the hope that they will gain something out of it.

The one thing that I am so glad I have accomplished is graduating from college. That same New York Times article has mentioned that the massive job losses are coming from sectors that traditionally could've been done by those with at least a high school diploma. If education wasn't really worth anything, why would anyone of us spend the big bucks on a bachelor's or even a graduate degree? I hope to my readers of this blog (Are there still any readers of this blog?) that you don't lose hope in what you have accomplished or what you are on the brink of accomplishing. Though the times are hard, you and I are at a distinct advantage that even those Americans who are in their 40's and 50's, who have experienced far more things that we have, can only envy. I even know people at my age who are just now realizing that you just can't move up without some form of higher education. We are prepared to face the future together even though we fear the unknown and we are humbled by our current situation. It's going to take far more stength than we needed a couple of years ago, but I hope we don't give up on what we ultimatly want to accomplish with our lives.

I am forever grateful to Him for blessing me with this opportunity to grow up. I am also thankful to my mom and dad for supporting me with a home, food, and rather expensive health care insurance (For those of you against health care reform, try living with private health care insurance with high deductibles and premiums and crappy benefits).

Praying for you all as well.

That is all.