A Has Been

During my lifetime I have worked at being...

• a student
• a U.S.P.S letter carrier
• an engineering assistant on A-7 jets
• an accounting clerk
• an executive assistant for a large company Corporate Operations Controller
• a chemical technician on a solar energy project
• a software designer for missile systems, image processing, toll tags, software telephony for mobile systems, and a web designer
• finally a college graduate
• a cruise travel agent
• a database designer
• a friend

I have Volunteered as...

• a Girl Scout leader
• a Girl Scout leader trainer
• a church choir member, building committee member and secretary, a church newsletter publisher
• a voluntary homeowner association secretary and HOA newsletter publisher
• a gatherer and coordinator for high school classmates communication and reunion planner

My Hobbies and other interests include...

• swimming
• sewing
• cooking, baking, candy making
• macrame
• crocheting
• tatting
• bead and jewelry making
• jigsaw puzzles
• cards, board games, sudoku, crossword puzzles
• dogs and cats
• writing stories and poems

None of this has helped me—as a large, older, female—find a job with a large company with benefits. Many of these things I no longer do, but I could. There are classes I have taken that I never had the opportunity to use their knowledge.  Yet, even that is not what makes me a has been.

The fact that no one else recognizes or appreciates any of the skills and talents that I worked hard to acquire, that lack of acknowledgment is what makes me a has been.