Recession's Effect on Charlotte, N.C.

Every week it's the same. I wait impatiently outside the back door of a research facility and after a while someone on staff finally comes to unlock the security door. My arms are full of lab tests and medical supplies as I stand there in silence fighting cold and exhaustion. It had been four months since I resigned as an administrator of an artesian gallery in the SouthPark area of Charlotte. After emptying my entire savings account I took a job at Network Express as a medical supply courier to try to tie up loose ends while waiting for my financial aid to be approved for an IT program I applied for at the Charlotte campuses of ITT, TechSkills and New Horizons tech colleges. It was a time for bold decision-making. In two months I had gone from earning $36,500 per year at the artesian gallery plus another $200 per month from Catharsis at soundboyamerica.com - to earning $200 per week total, paid bi-monthly working as a courier.

It was November, 2008. That night was Election night.

I had been listening to the results on the radio in my van all night. Everywhere I made deliveries people were talking about it. Like many others, I thought the US would never have a black president, mostly because I did not know who Barack Obama actually was. Eventually I understood. The Council on Foreign Relations simply needed a facelift, and after eight years of the current administration it also needed a brain transplant. Soon after that I quit the courier gig and started work as an assistant manager in retail while going to school full time. I finally received financial aid from techskills.edu and I began to settle in to my new life of having no life for at least a year. I was making only $50 more per week in retail than I was as a courier, with twice the headache.

The TechSkills IT curriculum I enrolled in cost about $10K, two-thirds of which was compensated by financial aid and the balance is owed through student loans. I had to tighten up, but my spending was never out of control anyway. Being a bachelor for so many years, my budget consisted mainly of pocket loot for tomcatting, skylarking, rousting-about and so forth. As I now had no social life at all, I had no need to sport a load of dough while strolling on the scene. Even with that scenario, my expenses still heavily outweighed my assets. I realized I would be forced to give up my spacious apartment in the newly-swank area between SouthPark and SouthEnd, but even that was of no major concern at the time. Being a minimalist was to my advantage. The recession had actually forced everyone else on to my level of belt tightening and sacrifice.

One of my neighbors for example, was forced to sell the new car he had just purchased six months before, ironically just after I donated my old car to charity. Not having as much money was not heartbreaking for me; I hated the concept of being a consumer anyway. The part that affected me most was not doing what I wanted, when I wanted. All of the sudden there was no more weekend patio parties, no more gym membership, no more art films, no more cable sports package and no more hanging face at the pub. This did not hurt my feelings but it did force me to adjust. After a few months of hitting the books and obtaining a few industry certifications, I landed a slightly better job. However, at the same time I was forced to move 35 miles away to Dallas, North Carolina to my parents' house which also happened to be in foreclosure. I now have a 2 hour round-trip commute through 3 counties going from home to work - and work to school and finally back home. I'm literally trapped at a workstation or behind the wheel of a car 63 hours a week.

I finally understand why people like weekends so much. It's like a magical time where no one tells you what to do, unless you're married I suppose.

Is this what our system has turned us into? Are we content to work ourselves into an early grave? Do we all strive to be as wealthy as possible because money equals happiness? Even then, in our own vision of success some of us are still unhappy. I consider that poetic justice. Like most other people, I want to provide a good life for my future family, but that takes more than money. It takes dedication, patience, tolerance and understanding - that humans are all equal.

For now at least, foreclosure of my family's home has been avoided. After graduation I plan to buy a new home, or at least new to me - and try to move forward. The past year has brought new challenges and awakened some that had been sleeping. I often think of what was left behind, both good and bad - and I am now convinced that it pales in comparison to what lies ahead.