This post is not to make fun of my job. It's the opposite. I LOVE MY JOB! So much! If I didn't, I don't know how I'd calmly be able to handle such interrogation.
Like... the person who teased me about my employment the other day.
I think she meant it as a joke, but behind every sarcastic joke is some truth, right? In short, she told me that I didn't need a college degree to answer phones all day. When I began to defend my job, she replied with something to the effect of: "Sorry, answer phones and write passes to class."
Ouch.
Ever find yourself in a debate and think of the best response EVER... fifteen minutes after the conversation is complete? That's what happened here. In the moment, I switched to another topic. Fifteen minutes later, after contemplating why society ranks people's worth based on their employment and their salary, I came up with this response:
Dear Friend,
Pretend with me, for a moment, that you are eleven years old again. What did you want to be when you grew up? How high did your dreams reach? When I was little, my dreams were incredibly big. If life went according to my plan, I would be living on the coast right now, completing my Master's in Creative Writing, drinking espresso like it was my job and going to (or let's be honest, attempting and failing to) surf the waves every morning before class. But unfortunately, I left childhood like you will someday. I fell in love, got married, we moved to a new city and picked up mortgage payments, water bills, planning for a family, and investing our time in one another. Life, unfortunately, isn't quite as dream-come-true accessible as we would all hope.
Did you have any friends at age eleven who would answer my first question with "High School Secretary"? Probably not. I don't believe this is a job that children dream of obtaining post-college. But it's a good job. A hard job. It's extremely fast-paced, involves a great deal of problem solving, and comes along with some pretty lovely co-workers and a school full of amazing teachers. You see, behind each and every person's dream is one collective dream that we all share: happiness. Isn't that what we all want in the end? Isn't that what all our of life goals are trying to bring us to?
So I hope, dear Friend, that when you decide with your husband to send him to graduate school first, when you realize your bill payments are piling up and you need a form of income, that you will have the humility to find employment you enjoy over employment for the higher paycheck. Don't listen to the critics. Don't listen to society. I prayed for this job. For an entire summer, I asked God to give me a secretary position for the following school year. I completely flipped out when I saw its opening posted on the school's website. I cried when I thought I bombed my interview and cried again when I was given the offer. I wouldn't trade being here for anything. (Okay, maybe a job where I could play with tiger cubs, but nothing else, I promise).
In short, I hope you never put your identity and your worth in what you do-- even if you do something that society would deem "amazing". Because it won't last. And one day when you leave whatever job you have, there will be hundreds of qualified candidates available, and you'll be replaced.
I hope instead, that you'll put your worth in the amount of love and laughter that fills your life. And I hope that there's a lot of it.
No, it doesn't take a college degree to answer phones. But it does take a lot of wisdom not to listen to our world's view of worth. And to find your satisfaction in much greater things.
Agape,
"Mrs. S"
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| I don't own the rights to this pic or anything like that legal like that :) (Click to enlarge) |
"In short, I hope you never put your identity and your worth in what you do"-- We are defined by what we do. Simple beliefs are not sufficient to cause change in society. I hope that you can take whatever you choose to do and be the person you want to be through that task.
ReplyDelete"Because it won't last"-- Isn't that everyone's goal, to do something great that will last beyond your own life?
I find this post to be disheartening and snarky. That's wonderful that you love your job. It is unfortunate that someone has chosen to cut you down for what you enjoy. As you said, enjoy what you do, no matter what it is. Hopefully finding worth in your own career doesn't involve cutting down people who are passionate about their jobs, and who do put worth in their jobs, and do hope to have a lasting effect on their community.
First off, please let me apologize if you felt cut down or that I was speaking in a snarky tone while reading this post. That was never my intention. And I do apologize if my writing style came off that way.
DeleteI appreciate your opinion and believe we may be trying to say the same thing in some regards. However, this post was not meant to address leaving an impact or lasting effect on society. I completely and totally agree with you that we all want to leave behind something great. In fact, I LOVE this notion. I wish more people would believe in its possibility.
This post was only meant to address finding one's sole value or worth from employment, because it's not permanent. I could become injured and unable to work, I could make a crucial mistake and get fired, or one day I could reach a happy retirement... but retirement nonetheless. If all my considered value is in a job that gets taken away, then my value gets taken away with it. By all means, do work passionately, enjoyably, with commitment and fervor and delight. I'm just encouraging my readers not to find value in something that can be taken away-- or not attained at all, like my lovely little dreams of Creative Writing grad school.
There is beautiful worth beyond things capable of being earned. And there are plenty of coffee shops beyond grad school campuses (thank God!). :)
We all have a very high value - priceless - in the eyes of God. Women often have ups and downs in their life, in part due to the fact that their PRIMARY responsibilities - as wives, mothers, and family members - take precedence.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes read about professional women, whose career trajectory is unbroken, and think - how focused, but also, how sad - they never had the chance to explore other parts of themselves:
- the artist
- the nurturer
- the gardener
- the neighbor
These other roles are among those prized by those whose career track was not always "ME" focused. I did the "Mom" thing - took a hit on earnings, sometimes worked at jobs that had little status (file clerk, waitress, bookkeeper, copy clerk - yes, photocopying). Because I didn't define myself solely by my work, my sense of self-worth didn't suffer TOO much.
When circumstances permitted, I did complete college, work, earn a Master's. I'm near the end of that road, and treasuring the time I still have left before I retire. When I do, I won't be a nonentity, but as always, a valued, and valuable, person.
BTW - LOVE your writing. This blog is a chance to hone your writing skills.