Feb 20 (Late)

At the time this was due I hadn't really thought much about what a good place this would be and was unsure exactly what to write about. That was until I attended a meeting last week. A good friend of mine was recently laid off and he asked if I would attend a meeting with him that was for unemployed people and what to do now. The meeting was at his Church in Wayzata and during that meeting out of the blue this assignment ran through my head. The meeting almost initially felt like what you stereo typically would consider an AA meeting. Everyone sat in a circle and it was in the beginning as if people we ashamed to be there, but that mood quickly left as conversations started brewing about all kinds of different topics. The economy and the current job market obviously took up most of the conversation, but politics, Presidnet Obama, the school system and many other topics came up throughout the meeting. What was a little suprising and also relieving was the positive outlook the group had as a whole. I felt uncomfortable at first because I thought it was going to be a very negative atmosphere with people bitter about where the economy is and that they were let go from their jobs, but many people saw it as a new opportunity to do what they have always wanted or pursue something bigger and better. I think it is great for places to hold meeting like this in their community because it opens up so many doors to people and they can network and meet new people and get ideas they never would have priorly had. In the end it was refreshing to listen to the positive attitudes of those people and it made my out look on where the economy is at more positive!