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| Biography |
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I'm 46 years old and a single parent of an outstanding teenage daughter. My father was in the Air Force and met my mother while in Japan, eventually returning to the US where I was born in Michigan. Our family moved around a lot, finally settling in Rohnert Park, CA.
Making the transition from military life to civilian life was difficult for me because I was suddenly removed from a community that was familiar to me and that I felt safe in, and into a completely different place where nothing and no one looked familiar and the attitude of the community was much different. I had my ups and downs trying to adjust within the community and school. My home life wasn't the best as my father was an alcoholic and my mother never seemed to be happy. They fought alot over money and my father's drinking. However, I went on to complete junior high and high school and then studied at the Santa Rosa JC after high school. I completed a BFA years later.
I met my daughter's father while working and attending the SRJC. Seven years later, my daughter was born. The relationship had its problems but became too rocky to continue after my daughter was born. I left him when my daugther was three months old, and she and I have been living on our own ever since. We now have two cats who also live with us in our 2-bedroom apartment in Santa Rosa.
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| My Purpose |
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I've worked in the secretarial/administrative field for the greater part of my adult life mainly in order to make ends meet and to provide for my daughter. However, my true passion is in interior decorating and design. I remember as early as 12 years old wanting to change the furniture around in my parents' house as well as my friends' house. Once I got to have my own bedroom, I constantly changed things around and collected odds and ends to help make my living environment comfortable and inviting. At the time, I didn't understood why I was so fascinated with furniture, carpeting, pictures, lighting, and other design elements that create a look or "mood" as they say in the interior design world. Now I understand. I appreciate beauty and balance, they bring peace and calm into my life. When I was living at home, the environment was antagonistic and unstable. Working with design elements helped me to create the peace and calm that I desired at that time, and in my life today.
With my parents passing and myself getting older, I feel like the best years of my life were wasted working at something that I really didn't like. I look back and realize that I was doing what I thought I "should" be doing instead of doing what I really loved to do, and was good at.
My mindset now is that I don't want to waste anymore time, I also want to be a great role model for my daughter by showing her that she can do the things that she enjoys without feeling guilty about having fun doing it. I want her to do what she is - to work at what she was meant to do. I don't want her to get stuck in a rut, wishing her life away.
In 2007, I began the process of transitioning into the interior decorating field by quitting my permanent deadend office job and working full-time through a temp agency, and most recently a part-time evening job with a fashion retailer. I'll eventually work in a retail home furnishings environment but for now, this is what I have to do.
However, my full-time assignment ended in April. I'm still waiting for another assignment while searching for full-time work elsewhere, and I only have my part-time retail position and child support to make ends meet. I'm also picking up extra hours that I'm allowed to with the retail job and odd jobs that I find on Craigslist. However, I've gone through what little savings I had, and now I have basically nothing left. I don't have any credit cards to charge on, I don't qualify for a personal loan, and I don't have family that I can turn to.
I recently went to the Human Services agency to sign up for cash assistance and food stamps but I couldn't get myself to follow through with the appointment because of embarrassment and shame. I've always relied on myself and not the government.
I understand that I brought this situation upon myself but I really thought that I could keep income coming in while making my career transition. I also didn't count on gas and food prices rising dramatically which has added to my money woes. I'm also thankful that I don't suffer from ill health or have a natural disaster to contend with. I'm just praying that someone will be able to donate for my personal cause before the end of July knowing that I'm motivated, directed, and on a certain path. I fully intend on giving back on Micro Giving once my situation stabilizes.
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| 639 East Ocean Ave. Suite 302, Boynton Beach, FL 33435 |
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