How did we get to where we are?

Fair question.  How did any of us get to where we are?  The devil is in the details - right?  The other day, someone said to me "you are so lucky (to be where I am at in life)  What is my secret?  For me, the simple answer is "choices" but in detail, this is what "my luck" looks like.

Since I was 10 years old, I have had an unwavering faith in God.  My faith has lifted me during some low times and also paved the path I am on.  Not all my choices have been the right ones, yet God's Grace bought me back.

Thank you, Dr. Seuss

I have worked since I was 14 years old.  That was the summer I had my first babysitting job (that I got paid for - siblings don't count).  This job was 7:00 am to 5:30ish and it was for three children, ages 10 (girl) 8 (boy) and 6 (boy who was deaf).  No, I did not know sign language.  Every weekday I walked about 1.5 miles to their house. The expectations were to make sure they were fed breakfast and lunch, have the house straightened before mom/dad got home, and to make sure that the children didn't do serious bodily harm to each other while all this was going on.  For that, I was paid $20 per week.  At the time, I thought I had "made bank".

By the time I was starting high school, my working had evolved year-round; still part-time but easily 15-25 hours per week.  I made less than one dollar per hour initially but by the time I graduated high school, I was up to $2.25 per hour.  Once I (and all my siblings) began high school, we paid for our clothes, fast food, gas money (after paying off the loan for first car) and shenanigans.  This wasn't anything less than expectations.  Thankfully, we weren't burdened by the now perceived necessity of pagers - then cell phones, and now basically handheld mini computers that are seldom used for calls.

I have worked full-time (and then some) for most of my adult life.  I have a couple gaps in time that never exceeded 8 months.  Those were more than made up for when I found myself working at times 2 jobs, sometimes 3 - during my adult life.  My mom also worked two jobs during that expensive time when she had five kids entering their teen years.  Again, this was the expectation if one needed a little more income to make ends meet.

I was able to stop working multiple jobs when I finally went back to school.  I took advantage of an educational incentive benefit offered by my employer, which allowed me to return to college and receive partial reimbursement. After the first semester (6 hours) I went full-time during the year and still took holiday and summer classes.  I took one semester off when I had Madison.  It took me seven years to get my Bachelors degree, but I got it done without going into debt.  I never quit.

Within one year, I realized I wanted to earn by Master's degree.  This time, it was without employer assistance and internships of 750 hours would be required in addition to the  60 hour core program.   This was completed in three years.

In a nutshell, that simple answer of "choices" is reflected above.  Those choices involved sacrifice, determination and hard work.  It also included what I call "stick to it iveness".  There were many times, I was tired, but I never quit.  Not mentioned through all of this is while working full-time, going to school full-time and getting the homework required done, I was raising a family.  Yes, I missed a few things, but I got the job done.

So...I encourage all of you (whether "lucky" or "unlucky") to do this simple exercise of "How did you get to where you are"?   The answers may surprise you.  And it's never too late to make a different choice.

Until next time,
#blessed

your pal,
Kari