This is so needed in this world. We share a lot of the same traits in that I have worked hard most of my life to help others in this world and to hopefully change something even if it is very small in my lifetime. I am 76 now and I have two degrees – one in archaeology, and yes, I did work in the field, and also one in criminal justice. I was going to be a mentor/advocate for juveniles but others have decided that is too dangerous for me so now I am going to be a mentor/advocate volunteer for foster children, and my specialty will be education. In America, we need to help our children learn good values and skills, because that is not what they are getting as a whole, and I have worked with school districts for some 15 years. I had other successful careers too, so I use whatever I have learned to help others to think about different possibilities for their lives. It is good just to be alive and lead a full life. You visited my blog, http://www.allinadaysbreath.wordsmith.com, and I appreciate that. I am a published writer and also a professional artist, though these days I work on the writing more. We need lots more people like you and hopefully some of our youth will rise up and fill that need. Thank you most kindly.

Thank you kindly. I was not born wealthy, nor did my own mom believe that young women should have careers. It was “find a man and settle down and have children, and he will take care of you.” That was the philosophy of those days. So when I wanted to take the college route to become a nurse, I was told no. When i wanted to join the ROTC, which was a sort of military training that would show us how to defend ourselves and others were there a war (which we have been coming out of since I was born I think), again, it was no.

So it was after a young and not successful marriage and some traumatic events that I decided to start at a university. I would have to put myself through, which I did. And somehow along the way, I met interesting people who were doing different things I thought exciting, so I decided to try some of them – editing, typesetting, working for a newspaper, and for construction news reporting. I always just seemed to want to try a lot of different avenues, even if none of them would make me wealthy or even give me a high status. i did what I did and tried what I liked because it felt right to do it. I loved to read and write too, so lots of things came into my consciousness.

My second husband and good friend for life after we divorced when he became a tax resister (he had been an architect) taught me a lot about classical music and definitely architecture, and I almost wrote a book about some little known but great architecture in Arizona where we lived. Once again, though he was an architect, and though I worked my way through school, it was not about being wealthy or even prestigious. He worked for a small firm, and the whole time we were together, I bought clothing at thrift stores and made my own. I perhaps could have done differently, but this was so much more adventuresome. I used my training in archaeology to learn all about the people in different towns by doing into thrift stores.
I could tell the overall ages of the people and whether there were children or mostly older folks, whether they were business people, etc. Lots of things. Related to the marriage, in the end result, the tax resisting became a big issue because so many friends were getting arrested and going to prison for a long time. He was not doing architecture, but selling gold and silver (this was in the 70’s and a lot of folks were doing these things). He believed he could help our country by doing this.

So marriages weren’t something that tended to be forever (though it would be nice, but it was not time then), but they were wonderful learning experiences. That was something else I learned. Even when things don’t work out, we benefit tremendously from each relationship because we get to see things as if through a kaleidoscope, and that person brings new dimensions into our lives.

We parted ways as best friends, and another path opened up. I became editor of a self-sufficiency (latent Hippy) magazine, Freedom Today. It was a very fun experience, and meanwhile, I had graduated from my studies in Archaeology at the University. Anyway, one day a man came to our magazine, and he happened to be an anthropologist. And so a whole new adventure ensued down in Mexico, where I used my writing, editing, typesetting and also archaeology. This is how life has been throughout.

Perhaps always being open to new opportunities is one of the secrets to having a truly adventuresome life, and another aspect is being willing to live modestly and in a variety of ways. I ate simply and inexpensively, and was not afraid to recycle things to have money to take my little dog out to dinner once a week at the local drive-in. I was not afraid to drive a VERY used car (I have had two used cars since I was a grown-up, and kept each of them for 20+ years).

And I was always willing to take what little I had to have still another adventure. The story goes on like this through my entire life. I developed very good skills at making something out of nothing, whether it was food, clothing, getting medical treatment as needed, etc. When I was unemployed for a while after having worked as a Regulatory Compliance Specialist for a prominent pharmaceutical company that specialized in plasma derivative products (got laid off), I became a volunteer at a major hospital where people learned to be doctors and nurses, and I got a free lunch if I worked four hours. I took that one meal and made it last me all day and saved some for the dog too. And I got free medical treatment by wearing my volunteer clothes when I went to the clinic. One just needs to be flexible and creative to do a lot of fun things in life and to have things we need to sustain ourselves in this life. It has never once been boring – never!

I could go on, for there are so many things I have done, but I don’t want to use up all the space. Still, the keys are to stop worrying about having a lot of money or things, and go for the adventure and the challenge of waking up every day looking forward to whatever comes along, be it good or perhaps not so good. Getting laid off when you are 64, and having to take Social Security early is perhaps not a great thing, but it was enough, and as always, I made it. And I am no one special; just an average person with wild dreams and goals to try new things in this world. Whatever things I have faced in this life, here I am today at 76, still standing, and still having new adventures to look forward to.

Your writing is very inspiring, Mathias. Thank you most kindly. It is always a joy to see that others have positive thinking that strives to reach above and beyond the everyday things of this world. We need this so much.