So I know this may not be of major philosophical or powerful thought but I just began thinking about it. During my career life I've done a great deal of jobs that would make some people cringe; I've been a waitress, a telemarketer, a cashier, a receptionist, and now I'm back in restaurant business but I do a lot of cooking and prepping food. When I started school I got this sort of "air" about me that I was better than a waitress job, I deserved a cushy office job. And for years I swore off jobs that I felt were beneath me. But I look back at myself and I have to ask, why was it so beneath me?
Having a job that requires you to work your ass off makes you appreciate things in life so much more than a cushy office job does. As a waitress I mad 2.15 and hour and hoped I got great tips, and some nights I went home under minimum wage; but I worked my ass off. Being a telemarketer I worked my ass off to make commission, and I was given horrible names from people over the phone that I began to believe were true, but I worked my ass off. As a receptionist I did everything I needed to do, and what was asked of me and because I was and looked 20-something people never took me seriously, never asked me questions I knew I could ask, degraded me, and mocked me but I busted my ass for that job.
Now I'm back in food business, and I don't make much, but I work hard, I sweat, and my feet hurt at the end of the day, and my mind races wondering what bit of homework will I sacrifice tonight so I can sleep. The jobs I've done have put me through rough and tough situations, but it makes me appreciate all the things I never do in life. I appreciate sitting when my feet ache, and showers when I feel sweaty and greasy from working, and beds for when I'm exhausted, and food and water after a long shift. Family and friends that listen to me talk about my day; all these things I would probably take for granted if I chose an office job instead of where I am at now.
All of these things, I am grateful for, and I know some people do not have those things in life, and how lucky am I to have them! And how foolish and unappreciative of me to think that these jobs are beneath me! Some people would kill to have a job nowadays! So if I could take this time to tell Young College Student Me a thing or two I will say:
"Stop, you are only inhibiting yourself, and not allowing yourself to appreciate the world. Stop, nothing is beneath and nothing is above you. You don't deserve better because you go to college."