Oooops Upside the Head! When Life Throws You Curve Balls!

My mother always warned me that life can throw you some curve balls. Well being in NYC the very home of Wall Street and all that has come with the market downturn. Really threw me for a loop. I am an actress and have been supporting my dream by freelancing for the past few years after getting sick and tired of my corporate gig and decided I was going after my dreams. After all they say that it is never too late.



Many people here began to feel the economic crunch around the end of 2007 early 2008 when the news of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Bear Stearns became public. I actually told a friend of mine that I could feel something coming. She thought I meant another 9/11 type thing. I told her no, but something big. The message my spirit was receiving was that America and its Americanisms had run its course and somehow we all were going to have to pay for American Corporate and Government Greed!



All of a sudden jobs became scarse. So, I applied for my unemployement and thought this would be a great time to start my business venture I had been sitting on for a while. I knew the Department of Labor (DOL) had a program to assist new entreprenuars. I called the DOL Unemployment Insurance (UEI) and instead of getting the assitance I was asking for I got slapped with a law suit from the DOL-UEI. And that set me on this path that lead me to a economic chaos when I could not find work. I lost pretty much all, lived out my savings and rapidly sank into debt as I started living on my available credit... I was doing all I could to stay determined and keep my head up when someone I was friends with at the time sent the following story to me. This is a true story that happened to one of her girlfriends. She sent it to me for encouragment and encourage me it did...



HEY GUYS! HOW AAAARRRREEEE YOOOOUUUU?????!!!! BLESSED I HOPE. I HAVE A STORY 4 YA. I WAS JUST GONNA MOVE ON & NOT TALK ABOUT IT BUT I DECIDED I NEEDED TO SHARE IT. I KNOW I'VE BEEN SCARCE FOR AWHILE NOW BUT I'VE JUST BEEN REEEEALLY LIVING LIFE...THAT MEANS MEETING ALOT OF THE DIFFERENT "SIDES" OF LIFE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. NOW I'M NOT A YOUNG CHICK BUT I CAN TRULY SAY THAT I WAS KIND OF A ROOKIE BEFORE. (LOL!)I HAD MORE "FIRSTS" THIS PAST YEAR THAN I'VE HAD IN MY WHOLE LIFE. I FEEL LIKE I JUST GOT THROUGH MY FRESHMAN YEAR AND NOW I'M JUST MOVING ON... AND THATS REAL TALK. SOMETIMES WE ADD THINGS UP AND CONVINCE OURSELVES THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH ALOT AND THAT THERE COULD'NT BE MUCH MORE THAT WE COULD GO THROUGH... EH!!WELL NOW I KNOW BETTER AND I CAN PROUDLY SAY THAT I AM TRULY A SURVIVOR.AND I CAN ALSO SAY... "I AM IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE NOW BECAUSE OF IT!" I'VE GONE THROUGH THE DRAMA OF WORK, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIP FIRSTS/FAILURES. BUT I ALSO WENT THROUGH THE FIRST OF ALMOST LOSING MY LIFE DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES THAT WERE MISSED BY MY DOCTOR (WHO I WAS PAYING CASH & GOING TO SEE EVERY 6 MONTHS AND MORE!) I KEPT CRAMPING, FEELING SICK & MY BODY WAS GOING CRAZY (SKIN, HAIR, ETC) AND I COULD'NT UNDERSTAND WHY. I ASKED THE DOCTOR & HE JUST TOLD ME IT WAS MY DIET CAUSING THESE ISSUES AND POOR DIGESTION. SO I MOVED ON, BLAMED MYSELF AND STARTED WORKING ON HOW I ATE, ETC. IT SEEMED TO HELP A BIT BUT NOT COMPLETELY.I KEPT GETTING SICK FROM TIME TO TIME UNTIL ONE DAY I GOT SO SICK I FINALLY ENDED UP IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM. MARCH 22ND. AFTER ALMOST 24 HOURS OF TESTS THEY TOLD ME. I HAD A TUMOR BIGGER THAN A TENNIS BALL IN MY RIGHT SIDE CAUSING MULTIPLE PROBLEMS (ALL KINDS OF MEDICAL TERMS) AND THEY NEEDED TO REMOVE IT RIGHT AWAY. THERE COULD BE COMPLICATIONS, INFECTION & I COULD ALSO DIE. SO THEY NEEDED SOMEONE WHO COULD MAKE MEDICAL DECISIONS FOR ME JUST IN CASE I DON'T MAKE IT. "MY LIFE FLASHED B4 ME..."I WAS IN SURGERY IN LESS THAN AN HOUR. I HAD JUST ENUOUGH TIME TO MAKE 3 QUICK CALLS, FILL OUT PAPERWORK & LOOK AT MY 2 SCARED DAUGHTERS TO SAY GOODBYE... AHHH...YEAH.

WELL... THEY TOOK IT OUT & IT WASNT CANCEROUS! IT TOOK 8 WEEKS (APRIL,MAY) FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO FUNCTION NORMALLY AGAIN & I'VE BEEN RECOVERING SUCCESSFULLY (SO FAR). I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FIVE DAYS AND DURING THAT TIME IT ALL STARTED. THE TRUTHS!!! THE TRUTHS ABOUT ME!!! MY LIFE!!! MY FEELINGS!!! MY DREAMS!!! MY GOALS!!! MY WANTS!!! MY NEEDS!!! THE TRUTHS... ABOUT ALL THOSE AROUND ME AND THOSE WHO ARE'NT. FRIENDS, FAMILY, ETC.THE TRUTHS... ABOUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT AND WHAT ISNT. WHATS URGENT AND WHATS NOT. THE TRUTHS... ABOUT WHATS REAL LIFE AND WHATS REAL LIVING! AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. IT ALL STARTED TO COME TO LIGHT, COME TO LIFE AND COME OUT OF THE SHADOWS.AND IVE BEEN DEALING WITH EVERY LAST THING SINCE THEN. THE GOOD AND THE BAD. BUT I LOOK AT THE SURGERY AS DIVINE INTERVENTION. THE LORDS FINAL WAY TO GET IT OUT.IN RETROSPECT, THE ONLY THING I REGRET IS THAT I DIDNT LISTEN TO MY INSTINCTS AND MY BODY WHEN IT WAS TELLING ME SOMETHING MORE WAS WRONG. FUCK THE DOCTOR!!! MY PERSONAL ADVICE (SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE NOW) IS ALWAYS GET WHATEVER TESTS NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE NOTHING SERIOUS IS WRONG. DOCTORS ARE GETTING SO LAZY NOW WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A CURE. AND IF YOUR DOCTOR WONT GET IT DONE THEN GO TO ANOTHER ONE. NO MATTER HOW LONG HE'S BEEN YOUR DOCTOR! AS FOR ALL THE OTHER SHIT. FRIENDS, FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS.... WHEN THE TRUE LIGHT SHINES UPON YOUR LIFE THE VAMPIRES WILL BE REVEALED. THE ONES WHO'VE BEEN SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF YOU. CARE FROM A DISTANCE. DONT GIVE THEM PERSONAL ACCESS TO YOU. ONE THING ABOUT ME IS THAT I AM TOO HONEST, TOO GIVING AND I CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT OTHERS LIVES, WANTS & NEEDS. THOSE WHO KNOW ME KNOW THAT. AND I WON'T CHANGE. I LOVE WHO I AM & I KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER. JUST GONNA BE MORE SELECTIVE NOW. ITS TRUE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT LIFE...ITS UNEXPECTED, ITS IRONIC, ITS A BITCH, ITS A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE & ITS TRULY AMAZING. I CAN HONESTLY SAY NOW THAT I LOVE IT MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.... VIVA LA VIDA!!!!

Well, after reading this story I was so inspired and encouraged. This wasn't some random story on the web, but someone I was only separated by 2 degrees of separation. It made it a little more personal. Talk about getting knocked down by a curve ball and getting back up again!

I know so many people that are experiencing hardships right now, but keep your head up. It's Gonna Be Alright!!!