I'm sure I echo the feelings of very many people when I say that I am relieved that the past year has come to a close. This New year, more than any previous one, I have a strong sense of being glad to make new beginnings, to glimpse new horizons and to nurture new hopes, and I feel a sense of blessed relief that a very difficult year, both personally and nationally, has come to an end.
The last few months in particular proved nightmarish on the personal front. I have been working very hard at formulating applications for academic posts in French and Translation Studies, but despite doing very well and coming very close to being successful in a number of interviews/presentations, I haven't quite made it just yet. For instance, I was told that I came a very close second at a recent interview and presentation for a French associate teaching fellowship in a UK university. Rather than being unduly disappointed at not getting the job, I have, rather, come to perceive that it is actually encouraging approbation to have done well at this competition. It means, surely, that I am slowly but surely approaching my target and doing the right things.
And so, I have resolved not to be disheartened as the present economic crisis means that so many other people, highly-qualified after many years of hard work at university, are struggling to find work - not just work directly related to their specialised professions, but indeed, work of any description.
This means that people are having to become more creative and resourceful, and more patient and accepting of current social and economic difficulties. Thus, while I shall continue to apply for academic posts, I shall also, this year, continue to think outside the box and embrace solutions to the job search which represent alternatives to the conventional expectation of a 'nine to five' full-time job. In my case, that means continuing to seek more hours giving private tuition in French, English and Translation Studies; continuing to seek substitute teaching, as thin on the ground as such opportunities may be, and continuing to plug away at my translating work for the North American Jules Verne Society and at my Translation Studies research.
I will live for the moment and make the best of things as they are, taking one day at a time, not sweating the small stuff and trusting that things are working out in their own unpredictable way. I seem to be trotting out a number of hackneyed phrases here, but I find that the most trite, clichéd truisms actually contain a wealth of wisdom.
I was recently devastated that a job I was about to take up as an English Language Teaching Mentor in Malaysia fell through; the UK-based company which had recruited me wrote to say that they had made a mistake in appointing me and that what they actually needed was, specifically, primary school teachers. My own experience is at secondary and university levels.
I find it hard to believe that the company could have signed contracts with me, and allowed the process to get this far, only to realise two weeks before my starting date that my profile was not what they were looking for.
But I feel that everything happens for a reason. I am quite content to continue working in areas more closely related to my qualifications, viz. French and Translation.
I recently found a lovely new studio apartment here in Dublin, with lovely neighbours and a charming landlady. So, as I said at the beginning of this posting, 2011 has all the allure of a fresh start. I am happy to be remaining in Dublin, near to my family, especially my disabled brother Neil, and to be continuing to concentrate on the subjects I love, teaching and researching Francophone-related topics in a city I call home.
The worries of the past few months have melted like the recent snow. And while the snow may return, I am determined that my anxieties will not resume!
It's all a question of perspective, of coping. And - dare I say it - of knowing when and how to be strong in the face of the minority of not-so-desirable characters we are all occasionally confronted with.
And what has really helped me over the past few months, of job-seeking and house-hunting, has been quite simply the wonderful care, support and help of close, trusted friends, whose presence reminds you, when times are hard, that yes, the world is a beautiful and kind, caring place despite occasional appearances to the contrary.
Friends like Krystyna and Cathy. who empathised with the dearth of academic opportunities and gave, and continue to give, much practical advice...
Jim, who rescued me from a horrendous 'apartment' and gave me a peaceful, comfortable home to share with him these past few months, while I searched for a suitable place to call home and set down new roots, something which is now a fait accompli.
My close family for moral and practical support. Including those loved ones who have passed on and to whom I pray.
For Irish people in general, 2010 has truly been an annus horribilis. But ... it's history!
And I truly believe that we are now collectively dusting ourselves off, bruised but unbroken, in order to return to hope, acceptance and new forms of prosperity which are less material but more lasting. Emotional, moral prosperity and stability, if that makes sense.
To quote one more cliché which I feel sums up the feeling of hope and recovery to which we Irish currently aspire:
The darkest hour is before the dawn.
Happy New Year!
