Playing with the hand you were dealt

"A Hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming odds"(Christopher Reeve). This quote to me describes Marie perfectly, someone who was dealt a rough hand who kept enduring. On Sunday September 15th, 2019, I interviewed Marie Goulet at her home. When I walked in, I already felt welcomed into her home and saw a house that was made for a family. When you walk into her home you wouldn't expect someone that had to move from place to place for most of her life. You see a home that is covered wall to wall with pictures of her family and friends. You wouldn't expect this same person to not have a stable home to live in for years be able to set up a stable home environment for her and her child. When I walked in she asked me if I would like some water, or if she could get me anything. This type of hospitality is rare nowadays, and something I wasn't expecting to get during this interview.

I decided I was going to conducted my interview on her couch and already it was a very comforting setting that I felt at ease being in. I expected this interview to have some issues with being able to get some aspects of Ms. Goulet’s life. However, this wasn’t the case, she immediately answered all the questions I asked. The first topic being about her mother. She explained to me that her mother was “sick for two years. She was diagnosed with breast cancer originally”. At this time in her life Ms. Goulet was nine years old, she also claimed that after her mother died, she had gone into foster care at the age of 11. She describes her experiences there as “weird and crazy”. Even after going through just that at a young age Ms. Goulet says that “It’s all apart of the journey, I am who I am today because of it. I wouldn’t trade any of it.” This was interesting to hear because most people in this situation would wish that their circumstances were different, but she didn’t view it this way, she viewed it as a something that happened to her so she could user her experiences help people. Ms. Goulet has been a school social worker for most of her life, she describes that “I gravitate towards the quote unquote bad kids”. She credits her background saying, “if I wasn’t raised the way I was raised or didn’t have the experiences that I had than I might not be as compassionate or understanding”. This value speaks volumes, that someone who essentially didn’t have a childhood was able to turn around and turn that pain into something positive, something, frankly, inspiring.

Ms. Goulet Dives into the idea that society places a big role into how people need to live their lives, she talked about the idea society puts a big emphasis on the role of happiness. Ms. Goulet claims that “Western culture, America for sure, I think we have this misconception and it’s pushed on us that we need to be happy all the time”. This idea is something that really shows people how Ms. Goulet is that she understands that things happen, that you aren’t always going to be happy, but when the good things do happen it makes what happens worth more. It gives you the time to really appreciate what you have instead of trying to pine over what you don’t have. She describes this as a sense of entitlement. Something that society really pushed us towards, with social media being the main issue, that you are always wanting that bigger house or more money, because you see how someone else having those things.

Ms. Goulet at the end of the interview brings up how she got diagnosed with breast cancer in the end of May. When she talks about it she talks about how it’s something that was similar to what killed her mother, whoever this will not be her fate. “History repeated; however, history will not repeat itself. I will have a different outcome than my mother did”. She still does what she needs to, she still goes to work, she still goes to everything she needs to go to. When I said in the interview that there is a lot of people in your position that might just give up, she said that “You allow yourself a pity party, that is the natural human response, you throw the party, clean it up, and move on. You can either put on your big boy or girl pants or wallow in it”. This connects to the quote I had initially about what defines a hero. She is going through this awful thing currently, but she isn’t going to let it be the thing that defines her. She is enduring it but is going to overcome it. She makes this clear when she states “This is not how I go out, I think of my Facebook about it initially. Do I get hit by a lion in Africa? Maybe. Do I get hit by a bus? Maybe. But Breast cancer isn’t it”.

Throughout the interview Ms. Goulet really play with the idea of being present, living how you can now instead of worrying about what’s going to happen later. Don’t let your life be dragged down by the thoughts of death because, like she said, you can walk outside and get hit by a bus. Towards the ending of the paper she mentions the idea of what people think happens after death. Whether it be heaven or hell, she states that “We get one life, hopefully we get more than that. I love the idea of reincarnation; I love the idea of heaven. However, you look at it, whatever you believe in, these are nice ideas. But we don’t know the only thing we know is now, why would we waste it?”. This to me stood out because it explained a lot of what she believes in. It explained why she doesn’t wallow on the child hood she essentially lost, the fact she never really had a place to call home for most of her life, why she decided to start helping people. She understands that her situation isn’t good but she isn’t letting that be her life, she is only allowing It to be a part of her life. That to me is powerful, something that I think a lot of people can learn from.

After the interview with Ms. Goulet I interviewed one of her friends, her name is Laura Boskelly. I asked her what she thought of Ms. Goulet and she told me that "Marie is one of the strongest people I know. I just love her, what she is going through I couldn't even begin to think what it would be like. She is still so optimistic and caring, she really is someone that motivates me to do more with my life". The way ms. Boskelly was talking about marie was so warm and genuine. I could tell these two were friends for a long time before she was diagnosed and I can tell that they still remain good friends. Ms. Goulet's life didn't just impact her self but the people around her, showing people how to be strong and endure no matter what happens. I was happy to get the chance to do interview ms. Goulet and I wish her the best of luck in everything she does