With how messed up this world seems to be these days, with our country fighting in wars we can't win, the debt ceiling crisis, US's credit rating gets lowered, stock market crashing, it's a wonder how many people can actually be legitimately happy these days. Besides a select few, most people are feeling the down times of the economy - whether it be worrying about losing their jobs or being afraid of making a new purchase for fear of the former situation happening. There's more worries than just that, but you get the point - you may be living a form of it yourself.
I've been lucky and been put in a more favorable situation than most - both in living arrangements and employment. That allows me to escape from the realites of the world more than others. It's probably a big reason why I'm able to be sidetracked by sports so easily. My biggest form of anxiety and excitement in the next month comes from fantasy football drafts and the start of both college and pro football seasons.
Many people wish they had these worries as a top priority. Instead, the never-ending pile of bills and many of the above worries are what have many in a bind. I've heard stories from several of my friends about their frustrating job searches. In two of their cases, they were both teachers and I heard/read about their plights often. The one friend who shared her frustrations with me was running short on patience. While I myself haven't been in that situation in over a year, the main thing I told her was what I told myself when I was looking for employment - just keep your head up and keep trying. The world can be a cold place, so you have to keep failing sometimes at these searches to find the right place. Luckily, the friend I told this to, in addition to my other teacher friend, had a happy ending.
At the end of the day, that's what most of us are looking for. We aren't necessarily looking for the perfect ending, but something resembling our hopes and dreams is what we want. The term "happy ending" seems movie-ish, but it's true. When bogged down in the daily life troubles, it's easy to forget to aim for more happiness in our lives, no matter how temporary. Easy for me to say, I know.
While this economy struggles to get back to normal, do all that you can to keep your head above water. And while it's above water, buy yourself an innertube and relax once in a while in this cesspool of a pool known as America.
