Please pardon my one semi-political post. If you live under a rock or in another country than the United States, then you may have realized it is a Presidential election year. In November, we'll be choosing who will represent us for the next four years. A question has been going around this particular year: Are you better off today than you were in 2008?
I've decided to answer this question and explain why.
Yes, I am better off today than I was in 2008.
In 2008, I worked part-time for a public library. I was a library page, and I got paid minimum wage ($6.85 at the time) for twenty hours a week. It was a good job, and I loved working there, but you can do the math and figure out that I wasn't making all that much. In September 2008, I had applied for a full-time children's librarian position, but even though I got an interview, I didn't get the job. To be honest, I was a bit relieved for the fact that little children scare me a bit.
Mere weeks after I applied for that job and didn't get it, the county placed a hiring freeze. I was soon told by my boss that my hours would be cut from twenty a week to twelve. But luckily, I had applied for a library assistant job at a small academic library and had an interview. I needed this new job.
And I got it.
I've been working as a library assistant at a small academic library since December 2008. I've gotten a few raises since then. Plus, with my editing work and writing, I make around $17,000-$20,000 more now than I did back in 2008. True, I'm still paying off my student loans and my car loan and can't afford things like a house/rent, but I'm much better off today than I was in 2008. I'm happier too because the new job I got gave me the time to be a writer.
Is everyone better off? Of course not, but that could be true about any four years one selects to look back upon.
Okay, that's the end of my semi-political post, and I didn't even have to mention any names. *grins*
And this will be my last Purrsonal Stories post of this year, since I have other things planned for the next few fourth Mondays.
Are you better off?
