美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Great Reinvention: People craved change and the pandemic was the motivator

The Great Reinvention: People craved¹ change and the pandemic was the motivator

Transcript²

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to make changes in their lives. NPR's Rachel Martin spoke³ to two people about how they reinvented their careers.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

How many people do you know who made big changes in their lives during the pandemic? According to the Bureau of Labor⁴ Statistics, more than 4.3 million people voluntarily resigned from their jobs in December of 2021 alone. On top of that, how did virtual work change our expectations about flexible schedules? What did being away from a certain work culture teach us about our own values and who we want to be at work? Over the next few days, we're going to explore these questions.

(SOUNDBITE OF SEB WILDBLOOD'S "SKETCHES")

MARTIN: Today, the Great Reinvention. We're going to hear from two people who were craving⁵ change. And the pandemic pushed them to make it.

CATI BENNETT: My name is Cati Bennett (ph).

CARLA STICKLER⁶: My name is Carla Stickler.

MARTIN: Before the pandemic, Cati was a stay-at-home mom.

BENNETT: I had an infant. And she was born in April 2019. So she was - just before the pandemic, she was just about to celebrate her first birthday.

MARTIN: OK.

BENNETT: And I had a 3-year-old.

MARTIN: Oh, you were in it.

BENNETT: (Laughter).

MARTIN: And Carla? Well, Carla was a witch.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO GOOD DEED")

IDINA MENZEL: (As Elphaba) Fiyero.

MARTIN: To be more specific, she was Elphaba, the bad witch in the hit Broadway musical "Wicked."

STICKLER: My favorite song to sing is "No Good Deed." And I always like to tell people it's because you're literally⁷ throwing, like, a belting tantrum onstage. And, like, how often do you get to do that as a performer? It's pretty awesome⁸.

MARTIN: We couldn't get our hands on Carla's version of the song. But this will give you a sense of what she's talking about.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO GOOD DEED")

MENZEL: (As Elphaba, singing) No good deed goes unpunished. All helpful urges should be circumvented⁹.

MARTIN: It was 2010. Carla was in the cast ensemble¹⁰ every night. But she was also the full-time¹¹ understudy for the role of Elphaba.

So on those performances, or maybe the first time, what was that feeling like?

STICKLER: The first time? You know, I kind of blacked out a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

STICKLER: No, but seriously, I do remember the first time at the curtain call at the end, Glinda and Elphaba kind of run out together. And the girl who was playing Glinda at the time, she goes, girl, are you ready? This is incredible. You deserve every moment of this. Go out. Enjoy it.

MARTIN: Carla loved being on Broadway. It was her dream since she was a kid. But it started to wear on her.

STICKLER: You know, you dance eight shows a week in four-inch heels. And you wear a wig¹² that's, you know, massive on your head. So your body kind of takes its toll¹³. And I was just really tired. And I was just - I was like, this is not the way I think I want to live the rest of my life.

(SOUNDBITE OF LOWERCASE NOISES' "PASSAGE")

MARTIN: Cati Bennett had a similar epiphany. Before she had kids, she worked in university administration. And right before the pandemic, she was feeling like it was time to get back into the workforce¹⁴.

BENNETT: I had applied¹⁵ for some jobs, (laughter) actually, just in late March 2020.

MARTIN: Yeah. So did you hear back?

BENNETT: No, no. They just went out into the ether.

MARTIN: So there she is, stuck in her house. Her husband isn't there to help with the kids. He's an ICU nurse, so he was working all the time.

BENNETT: So these things that I had relied on for some form of sanity¹⁶ being a stay-at-home mom were gone. So no story time at the library, no playdates, no babysitters. So our world got very small, very quickly.

(SOUNDBITE OF FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO'S "STALAGMITES")

BENNETT: I think I felt trapped.

MARTIN: Here's this stay-at-home mom near Los Angeles, desperate to restart her career when no one's hiring, and a former Broadway performer desperate to build a more stable life. But to get what they wanted, they couldn't just tweak their expectations. The moment demanded complete reinvention.

STICKLER: I like to say it's - you know, in acting¹⁷, we use our bodies to tell a story. In programming, we use code, right?

MARTIN: In 2018, a friend convinced Carla Stickler to go to a computer coding bootcamp. She dug it. But in her mind, she was Carla, the Broadway star. It didn't sound quite right to be Carla, the software engineer. So she hung on, kept doing a few shows here and there.

STICKLER: There's this kind of narrative¹⁸ in the arts where if you stop doing your art, you're just, like, a failed artist. And so I didn't want to be viewed as this big failure, as this person who couldn't hack¹⁹ it.

MARTIN: But when the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, it was time to jump.

STICKLER: March 13 was supposed to be our first preview of this new musical that I'd been working on. And we canceled the audience. We could only have family and friends there. And then, the next morning, we all went home.

MARTIN: Wow.

STICKLER: And I was like, OK. I think I know what I need to do. I think I need to start applying for jobs in tech. I have this new skill I've learned. This is the time to do it.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE WAR ON DRUGS SONG, "KNOCKED DOWN")

MARTIN: And Cati Bennett, how did she reinvent herself?

BENNETT: I thought, chaplain work is for extroverts²⁰ or people who really like to pray or, you know, like a pastor-type person.

MARTIN: The stay-at-home mom, who thought she'd return to work in higher education, became a hospital chaplain.

BENNETT: I was terrified in the beginning, you know? We didn't have vaccines²¹ then.

MARTIN: Right.

BENNETT: Some people get it and don't notice. And some people catch COVID and they die.

MARTIN: Right.

BENNETT: And there was just no way of knowing which way you fell on that spectrum²².

MARTIN: Plus, you were going to be walking into more death, honestly...

BENNETT: Yes.

MARTIN: ...To more people who were...

BENNETT: Yeah

MARTIN: ...On the edge of their lives.

BENNETT: Yeah. And that was less scary for me than people asking me to pray, (laughter) honestly.

MARTIN: Say more about that.

(LAUGHTER)

BENNETT: I was just so worried that I would - I don't know - screw it up, that I would disappoint them, I guess. But I mitigated²³ that fear by making myself this little, like, prayer cheat sheet. I called it my security blanket. I just kept it in my pocket. And it was, like, a couple different kinds of prayers, depending on if somebody was dying or if somebody, you know, just wanted to go home or, you know, something like that.

MARTIN: Yeah. Cati finished up her training in the summer of 2020. And grief was everywhere.

BENNETT: I remember I left my office one day. And I walked down to the lobby of the hospital. And I got introduced to a nurse there who was quitting. It was her last day. And she was happy. But on her last day, she had been asked to deliver another body to the morgue, one of the morgue trucks. And we had run out of body bags. And so she was instructed to place more than one body in a bag. And I - in that moment - I don't know. It's like, it's tragic²⁴, but it's inside this giant heap of tragedy.

MARTIN: Right.

BENNETT: I don't know. To not be present to my own sadness and confusion about what was going on, that would mean that I couldn't see what was happening for her when she had to stack two bodies in a body bag before she went and ate cake and said goodbye to her friends in the nurse breakroom.

(SOUNDBITE OF ZOE KEATING'S "SUN WILL SET")

MARTIN: Have there been unexpected joys in this work?

BENNETT: You know, it's kind of a different kind of joy. But there is just deep meaning in sitting with someone who is dying and being unafraid to see what's going on with them. While it's hard, it feels sometimes like the only work worth doing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ZOE KEATING'S "SUN WILL SET")

MARTIN: Cati Bennett found a higher purpose because of the pandemic. Carla Stickler, the software engineer, found solid ground.

STICKLER: It was exactly what I needed. It gave me the opportunity to feel safe and secure in a time when the world was a mess. It allowed us to move to Chicago, buy a house, be back with our family. It allowed us to travel more. Like, we're going to Paris in a week. And we're going to both work remotely. It's kind of allowed us to have this life that I didn't really realize existed.

MARTIN: Are you still singing?

STICKLER: I do karaoke a little bit.

MARTIN: Carla, you must be, like, people's nightmare at the karaoke bar, though. Like, every - karaoke, everybody gets to be a star and belt out their favorite tune²⁵. And then you actually are a star. And you get up there and, like, nail it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hey, Carla.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Oh.

STICKLER: It's really funny. My husband likes to make me sing "Let It Go," like, from "Frozen."

MARTIN: Oh, my God.

STICKLER: So he'll, like, put it in. And they'll call my name. And I'm like, why do you do this to me? And he's like, because everyone needs to know.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET IT GO")

STICKLER: (Singing) It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through.

Being an actor teaches us to be brave. Being an understudy, I think, teaches us to be brave. And so I just tried to kind of take what I knew about doing things that scare the pants off me and apply it to everything. And this whole journey has been terrifying, if I'm being honest. I was just kind of taking a leap of faith and hoping that it would work out. And I'm beyond grateful that I was able to kind of muster²⁶ up that courage.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET IT GO")

STICKLER: (Singing) Let it go. Let it go, can't hold it back anymore. Let it go. Let it go. Turn away and slam the door.

MARTIN: Carla Stickler of Chicago, Ill., and Cati Bennett of Portland, Ore.

(SOUNDBITE OF IDINA MENZEL SONG, "LET IT GO")

MARTIN: We appreciate you tuning²⁷ in to your local member station. You can also find us on social media. You can visit the MORNING EDITION Facebook page. Or, of course, we're on Twitter. You can find Leila Fadel at @LeilaFadel. A Martinez is @AMartinezLA. Steve Inskeep is @NPRinskeep. And you can find me, Rachel Martin, at @rachelnpr.

(SOUNDBITE OF IDINA MENZEL SONG, "LET IT GO")

1 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

6 stickler   

n.坚持细节之人

参考例句：

• She's a real stickler for etiquette,so you'd better ask her advice.她非常讲求礼节，所以你最好问她的意见。
• You will find Mrs. Carboy a stickler about trifles.您会发现卡博太太是个拘泥小节的人。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 circumvented   

v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的过去式和过去分词 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行

参考例句：

• By such means the ban against dancing was circumvented. 这样，舞蹈就不至于被禁止。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• It can therefore be circumvented by address manipulation and explicit type conversion. 因而可以通过地址操纵和显式型别转换来绕过此保护功能。 来自互联网

10 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

11 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

12 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

17 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

18 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

19 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

20 extroverts   

性格外向的人( extrovert的名词复数 )； 活跃、愉快、爱交际的人

参考例句：

• In the second half, the students were criticized. Extroverts were unfazed. 在后半部分，举不动时学生要受批评，外向性格的学生表现出不满。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• Extroverts prefer lively conversation to brooding on the meaning of life. 性格外向的人喜欢高谈阔论，而不愿思索人生的意义。

21 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

22 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

23 mitigated   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金，所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
• The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句

24 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

25 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

26 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

27 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》