If you had a second chance?

I don't think I would like to change anything now. When I was little (probably about 9 or 10) I wished I had been born a girl as, from what I could see at the time, they had a far easier life. They stayed at home and had all the fun while men had to go out to work and earn a living. There were tramps about then (not that long after the war really) and i always thought I could well end up like that as i had a very low opinion of my abilities. My best times were helping in my dads allotment and looking after our hens.

I went through school and worked quite hard mainly to put off the day I would have to start looking for a job. At 20 I had no idea what I wanted to do or could do. I had an interview at Shell, not for a specific job and they asked what job I would like to do. I was told there was not a specific job of mathematician. I ended up in Local Government for 18 years and then a biscuit company. Work, though, was always just a means of earning the money needed for our family.