Changing the World

Right now I wish I were in my Purdue bubble. You know, the place you're in when you're at college for 4 years. You think you're immersed in the real world, but you're not. Now I am and I gotta tell ya: it's not all it's cracked up to be.

I really do love my life. My job is great, I love my family and friends, and every day I feel blessed for what I have. But given everything on the news about the economy and how stressed out everyone is, it drains you. I'm seeing friends losing jobs or moving jobs. I'm hearing about more and more company cutbacks. Remember: I work for a non-profit. Cutbacks aren't good to hear. I'm not particularly worried, but there really isn't anything that can totally reassure me that things will be fine. I'm trying to be financially smart, which is hard when you're just starting out. I'm reading everything I can about saving, investing (at some point), and what it means to really live within your means. I think I'm trying to avoid the hardships so many people are experiencing right now. And every day that I hear more bad news about money, banks, and the economy, I remind myself that THIS is why I do my job.

For those who are not totally familiar, the point of Junior Achievement is to give kids the tools to NOT screw up like so many of us have over the last few years. Granted, that's not exactly the mission statement, but it pretty much sums it up. We're teaching kids the importance of being financially literate, why business ethics are vital, and we're inspiring them to be entrepreneurs later in life. Hopefully I'm helping to mold the next generation into intelligent, ethical, and responsible citizens who will desperately try to do the right thing, even when it seems like everyone else is doing the exact opposite. Hopefully I'm helping to diminish confusion and uncertainty in the minds of kids who don't understand why their parents are stressing about foreclosure. This is why I do my job: so kids today will be responsible in their own jobs and lives later.