I have a college degree. I graduated from college in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Technical Writing and a minor in creative writing.
I went to college for two big reasons:
— I wanted to prove to myself that I was smart enough to finish it. And I’m proud to say, I graduated Cum Laude. (Contrary to popular belief, I’m not that smart when it comes to book smarts. What saves me is I have LOADS of common sense).
— And I wanted to set a good example for our boys, to show them that you’re never too old to go to college, (I was one of those annoying, overachieving older students you see sprinkled throughout campus), and that if you wanted to make something of yourself, you needed to go to college.
I have since changed my mind on that.
College nowadays is not really about educating you and/or preparing you for the real world, it’s about indoctrinating you into a specific mindset and teaching group think. And for that completely worthless lesson you get saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.
Whee!
When our boys graduated from high school, we didn’t really discourage them from going on to college but we certainly didn’t encourage them, either. We didn’t have to worry about that, actually, as both boys were firmly against going to college, primarily because they didn’t want to start life off in debt.
Smart kids, I wonder where they get that mentality? (*cough*)
At first, we were like, “but you’ll never get a good paying job without a college education! How will you be successful?” but now, I’m SO GLAD they didn’t go as I wouldn’t want them to be brainwashed to believe the sh*t that’s being taught now.
True. If you want a job in a specific field, accounting, law, medicine, you’ll need a formal education to pursue that goal, but it’s totally possible to be successful without a college education. And if the boys want to go to college at some point, we’ll certainly support their decision, (with some financial counsel, for example, take it slow, pay as you go, don’t take out loans and CERTAINLY don’t expect someone else to pay your bills for you). In fact, I think going to college later in life, when they are more mature and serious about what they want to do is preferable as opposed to right after high school when they are impressionable and easily manipulated – kids need to learn to navigate the real world first, get to know who they are as people first, before encountering pressures to learn and/or live someone else’s ideals.
I have a college degree, but I haven’t done anything with it, I’m ashamed to say. Primarily because
I’m too scared to try
I don’t think I’m good enough
Technical writing is BORING
I know Kevin is disappointed in me. He has never come right out and said that, but I can see it in his face at times when it comes up.
Like now.
We had a “huddle” at work the other day, and my manager mentioned that she heard a “rumor” that the hospital was going to mandate the experimental injectable, i.e. COVID vaccine, this coming Fall. It will likely coincide with the annual flu vaccination, which, for the record, I HATE and don’t believe it and only get it to keep my job fully convincing myself that whatever poison they are injecting is not affecting my long-term health, at all.
Anyway, I was disappointed and sad, but not surprised. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with this issue for at least another year, but it doesn’t sound like I’m going to get the luxury of time here. And it’s only a rumor at this point, maybe I won’t, but I think it’s going to happen, largely because I hear the hospital is requiring new hires to get the “vaccine” before starting.
So, it’s coming. I need to stop holding out hope.
I’m not going to lie, I have been waffling back and forth on whether to get it, or find another job. Let’s real talk here, I’m not getting any younger. I have about … ten working years left in me before retirement and do I really want to start over? Start from scratch? Learn something new and deal with the stress of that?
And the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is one jab and it at least resembles something like a normal injection in that it has a little bit of the virus in it as opposed to the Moderna and the Phizer which is the mRNA technology that is still …. pretty experimental.
The thing is, the hospital will make me sign a consent, (even though I technically DON’T consent), thereby releasing them from any liability if I have any sort of adverse reaction. And I know that according to OSHA guidelines, an employer could potentially be liable for any adverse reactions if they mandate the vaccine, though that wouldn’t apply if I’m forced to sign that damn consent, but it’s food for thought.
And I LOVE my job, I really do. It’s stressful and exhausting, but I’m good at it and the people I work with are pretty amazing, but is all of this worth my health? Remember, I never, IN A MILLION YEARS, thought I would find myself working in healthcare – I never wanted it and quite frankly, I could walk away from it without losing much – I don’t have a dog in this fight.
However –
There’s already talk of an annual COVID “booster” and where do I draw the line? I have to put my health and freedoms first.
I. HAVE. TO.
So now what? What are my options now?
I have my degree. Perhaps it’s time to pursue something in that field. What do I have to lose? I’m going to have to find another job anyway, I might as well see what’s out there. And honestly, NOW is the perfect time to look for a job since employers are practically begging people to come work for them.
That may not be the case in the Fall when people lose their unemployment checks and have no other choice but to get back out there and find work.
This situation is TEARING me up inside. I’m reaching a crossroads in my life and I don’t want to make the wrong decision.
Luckily, it’s only me and Kevin on my insurance now but quite frankly, when the boys dropped off my insurance, they found some pretty sweet deals on health insurance, which wasn’t an option ten years ago when Obama stuck his nose into the whole business, so I know we CAN find affordable health insurance (and quite frankly, it will likely be better than what we have now because contrary to popular belief, health insurance is not that great for healthcare workers).
So. I think I need to move forward. I need to think ahead and prepare myself for the very real possibility of not having a job this Fall. Where do I start? I haven’t been on a job interview in ten-plus years. I’m a bit rusty, to say the least.
I need to start with my resume. I will put that together and then I will dust off my LinkIn account and post my resume to my Indeed.com account. I’ll cast my line out into the employer waters and see what I can catch. Who knows what will come of that, if anything.
If that doesn’t work, then I’m not too proud to apply places like Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby … whatever I can get. And quite frankly, I’ll likely make more money because again, contrary to popular belief, healthcare workers don’t make that much money.
Which is sad and wrong considering all they do for the public, but it’s just an unfortunate fact.
I haven’t made it a secret at work where I stand on this issue so if anyone from work reads this post they won’t be surprised to learn how I feel about this, but I definitely feel like someone turned an hourglass over and now my time at this hospital is running out.
To say I’m bitter and resent the HELL out of having to make this choice would be putting it mildly. Once again, I’m being forced to adapt to a situation not of my making and THAT PISSES ME OFF TO NO END. But I will NOT conform to something I don’t believe in. I just won’t. And if that means that makes my life harder, or I have to rearrange my life to accommodate the madness, so be it.
I don’t know. Won’t it be ironic if my college degree ends up saving my ass after all?
We went to our neighboring city’s Wal-Mart last night, (we go grocery shopping every Friday night after we eat – it’s one of our “date” nights – I know, we are ANIMALS), and it was so nice to see nearly everyone without a mask. It seemed so normal! It was nice to see people’s faces again.
Then, today, I went to my local Wal-Mart to grab some chocolate, (don’t judge), some Wheat Thins, (I’m OBSESSED with them right now), and some darker foundation, (because it’s summer and I tan very easily), and nearly everyone was wearing a mask!
*cue sad, dramatic music*
SIGH
Kevin and I are having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that we live in a liberal city. In fact, let me prove it:
Do you see that one white spot?
Yeah, that’s where we live and it’s the ONLY county in the ENTIRE state of Missouri that has NOT entirely lifted restrictions. Really? Really?!? What the actual hell? We’ve been in denial for a long time and it’s time for a reality check – we are surrounded by liberals. And the frustrating part, (among many), is that we had an opportunity to vote these mo-fos out of office but did we?? Nope. Why? Because most people are not paying attention to what’s going on around them and didn’t even bother to vote!
AARGH!
*deep breath* Anyway, Kevin and I refuse to wear a mask and people can just bite my butt because WE ARE OVER THIS PANDEMIC CRAP. It’s over. Accept it!
However, it got me thinking as to why people still choose to wear a mask and I’m betting the reasons go way beyond COVID. And this article caught my eye:
A number of women have come forth asserting they would prefer to keep wearing masks, even after the general public has discarded them, with some of the women offering explanations such as a mask functions as an “invisibility cloak” or acts “almost like taking away the male gaze.”
I found this fascinating. It never really occurred to me that people would WANT to continue wearing masks for reasons outside of COVID. But it makes sense to me. Masks hide your identity, they, in essence, make you invisible to people. Some of the reasons given in this article:
“I don’t want to feel the pressure of smiling at people to make sure everyone knows I’m ‘friendly’ and ‘likable.’ It’s almost like taking away the male gaze. There’s freedom in taking that power back.”
I can definitely relate to this reason. There are days the last thing I want to do is smile at people, or put on my happy face. People are exhausting, especially when you work with the public. You have to pretend so much when you’re around people, the good and the bad, and it gets old having to pretend something you’re not all the time. It’s also a great way to disguise my expressions because sometimes, I listen to patients and it’s all I can do not to grimace or frown, or whatever, and wearing a mask helps to hide my true feelings. My face is very expressive, (so I’ve been told), and I have a MEAN resting bitch face, the mask is great for covering that up.
I’m not sure what this commenter is saying about the “man gaze.” Does she mean the look that men give you when they think you’re attractive? As a woman, I understand that look and I agree, I don’t necessarily like it, but I would rather endure that look than continue to wear a face diaper.
“Maybe it’s because I’m a New Yorker or maybe it’s because I always feel like I have to present my best self to the world, but it has been such a relief to feel anonymous. It’s like having a force field around me that says ‘don’t see me.’”
I don’t know what being a New Yorker has to do with this comment but I agree, masks were a way to make you anonymous to the world. You blended in and in a lot ways, it did make you feel a bit invisible. I can relate to this sentiment because when I’m out in public, on my own time, doing my thing, I want to be left alone. I’m on a mission, to get what I need, or do what I need to do, and leave. Blending in was a perfect way for me to remain under the radar and not draw attention to myself.
“I just stare at that little box with my face in it and pick apart my appearance. My double chin seems six times larger, my eye bags are too deep of a purple, etc … Even when there’s a heatwave and my apartment is close to 90 degrees, I’ll wear a turtleneck that I can pull up. I pack on thick makeup that makes my skin peel. I 10,000% plan on wearing it for the foreseeable future. After a full work day of worrying and not being able to focus on my actual job, it just feels nice to blend in. Simply put, I’m sick of being perceived.”
This comment just makes me sad. I feel bad that people are so self-conscious about how they look that they would prefer to wear a face diaper than allow people to see them. I’m sorry some people feel this way, however, that’s even more of a reason to get out there and live your life instead of hiding from it. Take control, do something about those insecurities, whether that’s make different lifestyle choices or seek therapy – no one should want to wear a mask simply to hide physical imperfections.
I’ll never forget the first time we were FORCED to wear a mask. It was a trip to Wal-Mart shortly after this pandemic started and they wouldn’t allow you to come in without one. I was so furious the entire trip that by the time we got back out to our car, my heart rate was 160! I felt faint and JUST PISSED OFF. To me, wearing a mask is dehumanizing and humiliating. It does something to your psyche, at least, it did to mine, and I furious that they were taking my right to choose away from me. To me, I was being forced to abide by someone else’s fears. It dented my fierce sense of independence and I was resentful as hell.
(Still am).
I, for one, FULLY EMBRACE the fact that we’re doing away with masks. If you want to continue wearing one, go ahead, but I will not be participating any more.
“For thousands of years, a war has raged between two worlds; one a kingdom of light, the other, a kingdom of darkness. Lives have been lost, battles have been fought, homes have been torn apart. Lies have been spun, traps have been set, countless have been deceived. These two worlds that wrestle against one another both fight for life – your life. But only one has the truth. This epic war between the two greatest kingdoms in the universe is never so evident as it is in the Creation/Evolution debate.”
“One of the chief arguments against the Bible is that evolution, not creation, is responsible for the origin of animals and man. Spirit & Truth Fellowship International joins its voice with thousands of other educated Christians in categorically denying that evolution is true and that men and women are the product of millions of years of unplanned and random changes. The evidence from all branches of science is confirming that God did create the heavens and the earth, just as the Bible says. We have material on the subject, and the reader is also referred to the many books, articles, and scholarly monographs on the subject done by The Institute for Creation Research, The Creation Evidences Museum, and Answers in Genesis, some of the organizations that specialize in teaching the truths about Creation.”
“This movie reminds us that Evolution should be more accurately referred to as a “religion” and not science. Darwinian “theory” is nothing more than an hypothesis, which is not scientifically proven, as some would have us believe. In fact, Darwinian evolution violates many proven laws of science, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which, in grossly simplistic terms, means that, over time, things tend to fall apart rather than assemble themselves.
Expelled brings to light the chicanery and coercion employed to suppress rational discussion of the issues. Those who continue to rabidly promote evolutionary theory do so at the risk of maintaining their increasingly shaky academic prestige. We must rightly question their antipathy toward the very idea that the universe was designed by an intelligent designer. And the thought of anyone calling that designer “God” is even more apoplectic to them. One must wonder what is generating such fanatical opposition to the idea of a Creator.”
I haven’t watched Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, in fact, I haven’t watched a movie in … literally months (year?), but now that I’ve mentioned it, I’m betting Kevin will want to watch it.
Just a little light reading for you on this beautiful Sunday.
That seems to be the question that everyone is asking nowadays. No one has a definitive answer and honestly, it’s no one’s business what you do or if you’ve been vaccinated. You live your life, I’ll live my life. And if you’re vaccinated and you still wear a mask because you’re afraid of the non-vaccinated people, okay – go for it. I’m sorry you’re scared but if that’s how you want to live your life in response to the daily headlines that threaten a new strain and doom and gloom every day, go for it.
Me? I’m living my life as well. I choose NOT to vaccinate and NOT to wear a mask because I’m not afraid of a disease that has a 99% recovery rate. I’ll take my chances because the odds are very favorable that I’ll be just fine. But I don’t have comorbidities that would put me at risk so I feel comfortable with that decision.
See how this works? It all comes down to YOU and YOUR life and YOUR choices. No one can, (nor should), tell you how to respond to this pandemic that is clearly winding down, (thank GOD), nor how you should live your life – I answer to no one save God and my faith in God is strong and I believe He will look after and protect me and my family. If you don’t believe in God, then again, that’s your choice, you live your best life.
But now that the pandemic is over, (because let’s face it, it’s been over for a while but politics wouldn’t allow it to die), people are having trouble adjusting to “normal.” And THIS is precisely why I was so pissed off when the mask mandates first started. Firstly, it never made sense to me to wear a face diaper thereby trapping moisture from our breathing and then touching our masks trapping God knows what in the mask material and again, trapping it against our face so that we were breathing in germs we wouldn’t have normally been breathing in otherwise.
Asinine.
Secondly, I KNEW this would happen. How could it not?? People would get used to the mask and then the thought of taking it off, or seeing someone not wearing a mask “triggered” people’s fears that were bubbling just under the surface of their psyches and voila! Here we are. I didn’t want to create a new normal – I just want to live my life without the government, my co-workers, my neighbors, strangers, telling me what I should or should not do.
It doesn’t work that way. I shouldn’t be asked to work that way. We are free to make our own choices – good or bad. You are responsible for YOU, not for me, my family or anyone around you – ONLY YOU. You do what you need to do to live your life – if that means staying home and wearing your mask inside your home instead of getting out and breathing in fresh air thereby whisking away germs that would stick around in a non-circulated environment, who am I to judge?
And just as I will try not to judge you, I ask that you try not to judge me. Because again, my life decisions are none of your business.
And when I say YOU, I don’t mean YOU, dear reader, I mean people in general. (Though if you’re judging me and want to tell me how to live my life, then I guess I’m speaking to you as well).
I’m not writing this article to preach or bitch, but I’m setting this up to talk about a video that Rachel Maddow put out the other day.
Disclaimer: I despise Rachael Maddow. I think she’s seriously misguided and not very smart but I’m not bringing this up to insult her, I want to talk about what she said because it pains me to say it, but she has a point. Watch:
Maddow: Be patient and compassionate with each other as we deal with another period of change. pic.twitter.com/By2uXygf6l
I’m referencing the bit with just Rachel but when I embedded the tweet, the first bit with wacko Walensky showed up so let’s talk about her bit for a second.
How can a rational, thinking person agree with Walensky? Think about the scenario she depicts for one second – a family gathering – everyone is there from great-grandma to the three-year old toddler playing with his/her toys. Everyone is having a grand time – every one is vaccinated and maskless – save for the kids under twelve. They are being forced to wear an uncomfortable mask, are having a hard time breathing and they see they are the only ones wearing a mask when the adults in their lives, the people they love and trust above all others, are not. Even after it’s been proven that COVD does not overlyaffect children they are being forced to wear a mask because the supposedly thinking, rational adults in their lives are afraid they will get a virus they have been vaccinated for – it’s insane and child abuse, in my opinion.
But again, if that’s what you feel you need to do for you and your family, go for it. It doesn’t matter what I think – it’s your life, your choice.
But let’s shove put wacko Walensky aside and focus on Rachel’s speech in the bottom part of that Twitter thread.
Notice how she’s genuinely surprised when she says “that people have personal feelings about it and I did too.” To me, this sounds like she doesn’t venture outside her protected bubble very much, meaning, she doesn’t take the time to talk to people in the real world, she doesn’t take the time to consider other people’s opinions. This goes back to what I’ve always said, it’s important to listen to the “other” side when it comes to controversial issues, well really, when it comes to any issue. I know this comes as a shock to some people, but YOUR opinion is not the ONLY opinion. When you act like a grown up and listen to other people as opposed to just automatically tuning people out who have a differing opinion than you, you soon realize that there is so much more to an issue than what you initially thought. Arrogant, self-righteous people have trouble with this part because for whatever reason, they think that what they think is not only right but the ONLY way to think and the thought of someone having a different opinion or disagreeing with them truly puzzles them.
It IS possible to have differing opinions. It IS possible to disagree with someone without thinking that person came from Satan.
And perhaps, hear me out, it’s possible, that what you think is not only not true, but could be wrong, or at least, not totally true. People who do not take the time to hear, or consider, other sides to an issue are arrogant and delusional. You are not right 100% of the time. I am not right 100% of the time – we all have opinions, we are all human and deserve to be heard. It’s sad to me that Rachel seems to just now be recognizing this.
But this is the part I think is the most important in what she says – she has to “rewire” herself.
“Part of it is that I am going to have to re-wire myself so that when I see somebody out the world not wearing a mask I don’t instantly think you are a threat. *awkward laugh* Or you are selfish. Or you are a COVID denier and you definitely haven’t been vaccinated. I mean we are going to have to re-wire the way we look at each other because of the CDC guidance because she just told me we are sure that if we are vaccinated we don’t need to wear a mask except in very specific circumstances and so that means as we change in the country we are going to look at each other differently and have to unwire our preconceptions about what a mask, or a lack of a mask, means.”
She goes on to quote Biden and Fauci and how “they are urging people to be patient, be compassionate, give people respect for whatever they decide on this front because with this changing guidance we are going to have changing norms and we’ve got to give each other space to have feelings about that as we go through what’s going to be a big change and change our visceral reactions in a lot of us just in our day-to-day” lives.”
Be patient and show compassions to our fellow human beings that DARE to think differently than us?!?
What a novel concept!
Gads, there is so much to unpack here in her speech … bear with me.
She’s right – People, myself included, need to re-wire our brains after the year we’ve just experienced. We have to stop automatically assume that people who are wearing, or not wearing, a mask either agree, or disagree, with our own personal views. Again, it’s not all about us, it’s about what YOU feel is necessary for YOUR life. It’s not my place to tell you what you can and can not do. In fact, if you want the truth, (when do you not get the truth), I feel sort of sorry for people who are out walking, outside, with no one around, wearing a mask because to me, they have fallen prey to the narrative that we should all be afraid of everything and everyone because of this disease that has a 99% recovery rate.
Again, if this disease had a 60%, just to pull a random number out of my butt, recovery rate, we could justify our fears. I shudder to think what our world would look like with a terrible disease with a low percentage of recovery because wow, think of the insanity, (think zombie apocalypses), but thank GOD COVID is not that disease.
Her awkward laugh is very telling to me. It’s almost like, she’s realizing, for the first time, that it’s possible to think outside herself. That the CDC had to give her permission to consider that perhaps her viewpoint on masks was bigger than her self-imposed beliefs. It’s almost like … she woke up or something. For her sake, I hope so.
I like to watch body language, facial expressions and listen to tonal inflections whenever people talk and to me, it looks like Rachel is coming to some realization – that she sees a crack of light behind a door that has been closed to her for quite some time. It gives me hope when I hear hard lefties talk like this, like maybe, just maybe, they see a crack in their matrix and on some level are conscious of a world outside their self-righteous ideologies.
But perhaps I’m being too optimistic.
The point is, even when I vehemently disagree with someone because they choose to take the road on the left and I choose to take the road on the right, it’s possible for me to listen to the other side and HEAR what they are saying instead of automatically dismissing or labeling them because of our differences.
I agree with Rachel, we ALL need to re-wire our brains, use common sense and live, and get on with, our lives. This past year has been crazy, stressful and telling as far as showcasing how fragile humanity can be. And I agree with Rachel – we need to be patient with one another, show compassion, ESPECIALLY with employees working retail, food, etc. because not only are businesses short handed, they are likely dealing with a lot of new people who don’t know what they’re doing and are desperately trying to learn.
Treat your fellow human beings, regardless of where they stand on this whole mask thing, with dignity. Just because they are living their lives differently does not give you permission to treat them with anything less than respect.
Sorry this post was so long but this issue has been weighing heavily on my heart and I wanted to document this point in time where, hopefully, things started to get back to normal.
Where are all the feminists? I don’t understand how the left can try and redefine the role of women and yet, the feminists are quiet. Why?? Racism is spreading like a cancer and it’s not just whites that are in the crossfires. Biden is increasing the deficit – inflation is inevitable. And as if we’re not segregated enough, now the left wants to segregate the vaccinated from the non-vaccinated – yeah, that will go a long way to unifying people. The book review this week is “In the Dark” by Loreth Anne White and screw it – I’m wishing all biological women Happy Mother’s Day!
Write From Karen 