Personal Expansions and Recessions

Everybody's talking about the damn economy. It seems like you can't open a newspaper without seeing words like, "credit crunch," "weak economy" or "recession;" a conversation with a co-worker, friend, or acquaintance seems to always, inevitably, point toward the economic recession in which we are currently living.

Lately, I've been thinking and reflecting on economic expansions and recessions, and how, in my own personal experience, they have no relationship to "self" expansions and recessions. Those who know me best have heard me drone on and on about 2008; my face lights up, I smile, and just have to say, "It was the greatest year of my life!" Ironically, 2008 was a terrible year for the economy; America's investment banks crumbled, the stock market tanked, and people lost millions. Our country entered into a 1930s, Great Depression-like glum that still has no subsided. Yet, the year for me was phenomenal from start to finish; it was a year where I really found my place at work and took charge, learned more about myself and those around me, and was just in great spirits in general. Hell, I was practically walking on air on Monday, September 15; a day Wall Street called "Ugly Monday" as Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

I'm still in a personal "expansion" although America, and the world, remains in an economic "recession." However, there were times when the situation was reversed; people were making a killing in the market, families took lavish vacations, hired nannies, earned bonuses, and felt more secure. That time was not so long ago; the late 1990s and into the 2000s were generally viewed as prosperous economic times for this country. In 1999, I had a few personal "recessions" while the country thrived. The land of milk and honey meant little to me as a shy, awkward 8th grader with an f'ed up tan, whiteheads, and practically friendless.

Later, in 2003, I don't know if our economy was "expanding" per se, but I sure as hell was as a person. It was my first year in college, and the year was utterly blissful. In 2006, on the other hand, while some firms "expanded" at record rates (ironically enough, Merrill Lynch reported record profits in '06) I was going through a bit of a personal "downturn," experiencing definite personal recession.


land of milk and honey.