I watched the Bio Chanel's special on Gordon Ramsay last night. How awesome an individual. What was really interesting to me was how my Mom compared me to him in many ways. In her doing this, gave me a little more confidence and a little push up out of the water I felt I was drowning in.
If you didn't watch the special, here are just some highlights: he came from a very troubled home, father was an alcoholic, and his Mom was a part time waitress, and there were frequent fights at home, in which his father often used corporal punishment on Ramsay; he was very interested in sports, so much so he was one of the most valued players in football (soccer for us Americans), and then was taken out of that dream by injuries, no fault of his own; then he stopped, but only for a second of his life, and tried working for a restaurant; from that point on he decided this was the path he wanted to go, and he went!
The similarities in our lives are not just a few! I had many troubled homes; fighting between my parents all the time, sometimes violent; my first dream of being a housewife and mother were stunted in the fact I didn't get married out of high school, and I later had many miscarriages; then I thought I wanted to be a manager in retail, but then I saw the glass ceiling and decided I wouldn't be able to go far this way; then I wanted my own business, but the lady down the street undercut my prices so far, I couldn't carry on. Then, I decided to finish my schooling and complete my Bachelor's degree. Got that and thought the world was mine, but alas, it wasn't until I got my paralegal certificate, which was only 12 weeks of work versus 4 plus years, then the world opened. I then climbed the ladder in that world, and found it was actually pretty boring, as it became the same thing day after day, and it was so time consuming. At the same time I was working as a paralegal, I created a Plan B, which is what I have always done, as does Ramsay. The Plan B was to get more education so I could get into a job I would like and feel like I was helping people at, not just following policy, or helping one person look better than another in litigation. I was getting so tired of divorce cases where the father or the mother, whomever we were representing, was constantly telling us the other party was so bad, possibly abused the children, beat them, or anything to get the kids away from the other parent, and was so real mean about the other parent, the whole process was sickening.
I finished my Master's in record time, 3 years, and again thought the world would open to me because of that. Instead, it shut down even more than before. No one wanted a paralegal with a Master's: too expensive and too "know it all" assumed. Plus the economy hit, and jobs were being trashed left and right. So, I went to Alaska, just to see if there was something for me at the end of world. After four months, I found there was nothing for me, but more pain ensued. So, back to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Came back to Las Vegas and decided, after applying to many paralegal places, part-time secretary work, and adjunct teaching positions, to continue my schooling. I was looking for a degree which would allow me to help from the outside in. After becoming a CASA, I realized there were many problems in the system which were not going to be solved by sitting and complaining or by working within the system parameters. I spoke at great length with doctoral advisers at Capella, and then decided on my next Plan B: a doctorate in Public Service Leadership. At the same time I am working on a Teaching Certificate so when I graduate I will be able to teach online after graduation.
At the same time I am applying for Social Security Disability to help me be able to get the surgery on my knees, hip, and back. I received a denial letter for the original claim, then a denial for the 1st appeal, so now I am working with Binder & Binder and they are on the next step which I have to go in front of the judge with a Binder representative. After talking with my Mom, we decided my Plan B on this issue which would be to continue on my Ph.D. and when finished, continue on looking for jobs on adjunct teaching.
So, as I started, it appears Mr. Gordon Ramsay has had sincere up and downs in his lifetime, and yet he has over come them, and is doing what he wants to do, helping others succeed outside the box. I have had many up and downs in my lifetime, but have continued to keep going, and my goal is to help people from the outside, or rather from the outside of the box. He has Plan B's in his life, and I am constantly figuring out Plan B's so I don't ever get stuck.
So, thanks Gordon Ramsay for being who are, for working past all of life's issues, and for setting an example for not only chefs, but for us normal people as well.
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