Room for the Future
佚名 / Anonymous
At the age of forty-five， my usually well-ordered life became fraught with changes.
After twenty-two years of working for a major financial institution， a downsizing initiative and a major bank merger resulted in the elimination of over one hundred jobs， mine being one of them.
My once secure future became a fallacy. However， I was one of the lucky ones. I was not a single parent， not dependent solely on my income， but just like the other ex-bankers， I had become a disposable employee， and a statistician.
My mantra has always been “change is good， change is progress，” but when it affected my livelihood， I had to revise it to “accept change and make the most of it.” From the beginning， I chose to look at this occurrence not as a misfortune， but as a welcome opportunity. I refused to become depressed or bitter； instead， I eagerly anticipated doing something new and different.
Having a positive attitude made all the difference in the way I perceived the future. First， I decided to return to college and graduate， several decades later than I should have. Doing this at my age took more than a little courage. Not being a graduate had never held me back in my career with the bank， but now it was a personal goal I longed to achieve. With a little trepidation and a lot of determination， I registered for evening classes， and became an adult student.
Oral presentations were often required for one class. I remember thinking that if I had known this beforehand， I would have taken something else to achieve my required accreditation. By nature， I am a rather reticent individual， and speaking in front of people terrified me. As I stood in front of the other adults with whom I shared a common goal， my knees were visibly knocking， and my heartbeat almost audible. Somehow， I found my voice and squeaked out my presentation. The next time it was easier， and soon， I was starting to enjoy it a little. Later in the year， I even voluntarily interviewed a local reporter for an English assignment， much to the amazement of my teacher. My confidence level soared. Suddenly I felt like I could accomplish anything.