Life Hands You Lemons, Start Making Lemonade

Sometimes we as individuals cannot see the good that misfortunes bring us. We go through the emotional outcome first and then digest what is left after the emotional feelings have passed.

With the downsizing of many companies big and small, many unfortunate people get in the way. As a Boeing worker in Seattle two years ago, I felt pretty confident about having a job for a long time. But with the aerospace industry declining and the government putting tighter control on military spending, downsizing was inevitable.

I remember the emotional impact the layoffs had. We all feared for our jobs. For most of us the first emotion was panic. Boeing gives 60-day notices to employees who are going to become laid off. On the day your boss gives you that notice, it does not seem to sink in totally - not until the day you turn your badge in and close that part of your life.

Then the day of realization occurs. I myself felt relief that could not be described. Being laid off from Boeing was the best thing that ever could have happened to me. Yes, you read right - the best thing!

I took six months thinking about what I wanted to pursue. When I returned home to Spokane, I wanted to do something creative, and I knew college would be a way to acquire the skills I would need. While reading the want ads, looking for a job, I saw an ad for the work force training program that retrains laid-off workers to re-enter the work force. I could not afford to go to college when I got out of high school, so I joined the world of the blue collar worker.

Now, a lightbulb went off in my head. I made an appointment with Doug Morgan at Spokane Falls Community College and learned that qualifying for the work force training program would let me go to college and the state would pay for it for up to two years. I will graduate from SFCC in the spring of 1996 with my degree in electronic graphics/publishing. I will transfer to Eastern Washington University to pursue my bachelor of arts in graphic communications.

Even with people losing their jobs due to downsizing, good things can happen as a result. Try to look past the emotional feelings and look for the opportunity. It could be the best thing that could happen to you.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion page. To submit a column for consideration, call Rebecca Nappi/459-5496, or Doug Floyd/459-5466.