Not Upwardly Mobility

For the past fifty years, for all of my adult life, I tried regularly and repeatedly to become upwardly mobile, to attain a respectable position in society from which to contribute to the full of my abilities, to obtain financial security. But in the last half of the twentieth century America was not a land of opportunity for this single woman. And my mother's standing policy of withdrawing all support from me whenever I tried a venture did not help me. Other family members were even less helpful.

How many times did I try? I recently realized that I tried to better myself at least once a week (and probably much more often) trying to position myself optimally in my employment, taking second jobs, studying finance on my own, studying society to the level of Master at Ohio State University, starting my own businesses, seeking partnerships. Nothing worked. After reviewing my life, and who I have been, my conclusion is that the system was rigged against me. Even if I had been flawless, and I was not, it does not appear that I could have succeeded.

I calculate that trying for financial security at least once a week for the past half a century, 52 weeks x 50 years, is a total of 2,600+ failed attempts.

This matters to me both because it suggests that others were stymied in the same way, and because I know that I personally will run out of savings at age eighty.

Not Upwardly Mobile

GIF & JPG by Annmarie Throckmorton 2021