In less than five days, my life will change once again.
I will be interviewed for a job I’ve been looking forward to, and I’ve been given support on how to perform well. Obtaining this job would mean a lot. It would change my daily routine, my sleeping habits, the way I structure my days, and the people I converse with. More importantly, it would give me the opportunity to meet new people and do good work.
In Work and Humanity
Since April, I have been working at a Walmart Supercenter. The experience has been revealing, to say the least. No doubt have I been humbled by the work that gets done behind the scenes at the largest retail. But my humbling attitude was the least of my learnings.
It was the people I’ve met at Walmart that have done wonders to my attitude towards life.
Truthfully, I grew up privileged and sheltered, not having to work as a teenager and only choosing to start my first job soon after graduating from high school and before entering university.
I’ve done landscaping work with my father during my summers in high school, but only when I started a job separate from family matters did it give me awareness of how interesting the lives of others are.
My first job was short-lived, having only been there for a few months, as I prepared involving myself with more university-related opportunities.
And it was during my time at university that I was privileged to explore my interests and given time to decide what to do and where to be.
My decisiveness allowed for those opportunities to flourish, and I settled working within the entrepreneurial community, as the people I met were some of the most interesting I’ve yet to come across.
I liked being there, and I saw myself remaining in that community for years to come.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I grew too comfortable being there. I established my connections, and enjoyed my time in those environments. But I stopped learning about new people and new environments. I stopped growing.
As I saw my university days ending, I had to come to terms with finding a new environment. And my once-admired deciveness unknowingly became my dreadful indeciveness, leading to a 10-month period of unemployment.
A simple walk and a shared documention of my unattractive escapism was what allowed me to return to life, realizing that to get to where I want to be, I must do things I’ve never done.
And it was applying to Walmart that gave me the confidence to start over, earning an hourly-wage when most of my peers started earning a salary.
It was because I applied to Walmart that I met even more interesting people, including one friend who I never got to finish my conversations with.
Still, despite my new connections, I was often told I didn’t belong there. Coworkers and managers alike said I was “too smart” to work at Walmart, that I should be somewhere more fitting of my nature. I didn’t know what to make of that. They said they liked working with me, but I realized it was time to move on. Many of the faces I began with are no longer there. Everyone else has moved on.
Yet, despite my new connections and new environments, I was repeatedly told that I shouldn’t be here, that I’m “too smart” to work here and that I should do something more fitting of my nature— from my coworkers and my managers.
I didn’t know what to make of that. They told me they like working with me, but even then I realized that I should move on, as many of the familiar faces I started with are no longer the same faces I’m working with now. Everyone else had moved on.
Beyond the Impasse
Now, I am given the chance to do the same. Maybe this new opportunity will be more fitting. Maybe it will not. Still, whether I’m offered the job or not, I know changes are coming.
I still have my storytelling project I’m working on, struggling to write the stories that others entrusted me with, but dutifully thinking of it with every passing day. I still have mentors and connections who continue to offer opportunities, waiting for me to respond to their calls and messages. Lately, I’ve been at an impasse, distracted by short-term commitments, unsure how to move forward.
But this impasse will end in less than five days.
I must continue my project so I can move on to the next, and the next after that.
I must complete my interview and accept the outcome so I can move on to bigger and better things.
Above all, I must continue writing these daily drafts.
Writing was what allowed me to march on, and it will continue to do so.
I have my role, and I will live up to it.
I must give the performance of a lifetime if I want to live a good life.