My 500 Words- Write about work

Does work have to be something in which we settle? We are told to wait for the right partner to come along. We are told to wait for the right friends to walk by our side. We are told to choose wisely in our decisions. Why is it that when we have a job it’s said “be grateful you have job” no matter what it is?

Must we settle? So many people are in places that they don’t really want to be in. Is it possible to find what they really want to do in life and succeed at it? Is it realistic to think that my dream could actually be my reality? Are our dreams only ideas that shouldn’t be tried out?

I am one out of only three people who work at the office I am at. The Boss. The Bosses wife. And me. My heart aches knowing that if I left they would be by themselves again. I would leave them in a lurch. They would be stuck and maybe frantic. The questions tonight are my concerns for their well being if I am gone.

I have learned one very important lesson in these short six months. That is: To be real, honest and confident in that realness is one of the most important characteristics to have in any situation.

I walked into that office with five other people positive that I would not be walking out of there with a job on my hands. I wasn’t even looking for a job when this one came around. I had stayed in my room for a couple hours the night before working on my interview outfit. Finally I admitted that all the outfits were me putting on a mask to make me look the way I thought they might want me to look. I said screw it. I wore a pair of jeans. Black boots with a heel and a baggy black and white striped t-shirt. (aka: my comfort clothes). I brought a notebook to take notes and I planned to only observe. Two days later…. I got the job.

I was shocked. My mom knew it was mine from the time I first spotted it on Craigslist (mom’s and their intuition, eh?).  I made sure to note that if I could not be myself then I wouldn’t take this job.

As I journeyed through each day. Working at learning the tasks and meeting the patients I fell in love with where I was at. Soon the honeymoon glasses fell off and each day and I was finding myself trapped in becoming something I was not. A fake smile plastered to my face. A fake laugh at a dumb joke just to keep things light. This was becoming more and more a job that I was pretending at. Then being myself.

Now as tomorrow approaches I am making a very hard decision. Will I stay or will I go? I know what I need to be the best employee that I can be. I need to be me. If I can’t be, I will not be the best asset for this company. There is a limit that one can only pour out to until they have emptied all their content and no longer have anything to offer. You must be poured into, in order to give out.

I believe with all my heart that each position can be filled with competent, compatible people. Not all of us need to settle into a place just because it is a job. Most of you who read these blogs know that you’re calling is to be a writer. Would I find you being a CEO of a recycling company then? Possibly. Bust most likely not. Will I find you being happy as a janitor in a university where you have no connection with anyone other than the tile floors and porcelain toilets? Possibly. But I doubt it. You know your calling. And you know how to get it.

I encourage each one today to remember Not to settle. To know when your heart is calling and your mind is swirling with the possibility of dreams coming true. Don’t forsake your ideas. They can become a reality. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you need. It could turn out to be (the hardest) the best decision of your life.

I’ll stand behind you. 🙂