Hello Everyone----

I have been on this site for awhile, but have not checked-in in many months. No, unfortunately I did not get a job. I was feeling as though I really had nothing to contribute.
But, I came back this morning and read a couple (not a lot) of the threads, posts, blogs and was quite shocked. I have never seen such anger directed at other people here.

We all have only 1 thing in common---we are unemployed---beyond that our stories are as diverse as our dna. It really saddened my to see posters attacker other posters. This period of our lives is one of the most stressful and demoralizing many of us have every experienced.

My story--- I am in my late 40s. I have a BA and an MA. I have been unemployed for over 2 years. I was in health care and because my degrees were in liberal arts I decided to start work on my MS in health care administration. I felt that employers would see this on my resume and in cover letters and be 'impressed' and willing to give me a shot. Well, I was wrong. I do not think working on this degree has helped at all, with my job search. Now as far as my knowledge base--- it has helped tremendously and I have made many contacts and most of my professors are willing to be an academic reference for me.

I found this site looking for support. For me, that meant talking to, venting and bitching with (not at) other people who would understand and not judge me. For others, a support site means different things. I want to say, in my experience, Chuck has created a site for me to do this. Sometimes he plays the devil's advocate, cheerleader, analyst, nag, realist and above all Godsend. I am not perfect, you are not perfect and neither is Chuck. But at least he is trying. He shares his personal views and experience. I respect him for that.

I am not a cheerful person by nature. I am pretty melancholy. It has taken every bit of inner strength, fortitude and self esteem I have to wake up each day and go on; when some days I could easily drown myself in a big bottle of vodka (on sale of course).

Please don't attack each other. It does no one any good. And for every person that posts on a thread, it is good to remember there are probably 10 more than read your post and it may impact them in a negative way. Many of us are very fragile and vulnerable right now. Just take a minute to think before you post. Maybe email another member before publicly attacking someone.

Thanks for listening.
C.