Journey In Unemployment Land | 14
Post 14: 9/12/2024
2024-09-12 17:15:35
📅 ⚒ Week 13 of my Journey In Unemployment Land. Let's have a conversation about labor. (Story time!)
✏ Before I was laid off in June, I had a long conversation with my colleague (and kindred spirit) Shu-Fy Pongnon about the job market. We are both Afro-Caribbean women and, if you know anything about Caribbean people, we are no strangers to working. She and I discussed the meandering journey our families took for us to even SNIFF at the type of jobs we had: remote, 5-figure salaries, and benefits to top it off. Most days, she and I (and probably the many folks of color reading this post) are humbled by our privileged positions in life because we KNOW what our alternatives are.
👟 Two weeks ago, I decided to apply for a seasonal position at a local garden center: Pike Nurseries. I am no stranger to manual labor. I worked retail for many years before I got my Master's degree and my parents made sure I never sneered down at folks who serve us. A job is a job. Plus, I spent the better part of two years growing a vegetable garden (see my very happy lettuce patch from last fall I attached). Yesterday was my first day at Pike. A white male coworker took the time to complain to me about having to work there instead of his cushy IT job. I stared at him. He didn't speak to me for the rest of the day.
🐕 The reality is that our careers don't define us. Our lives are a cumulation of tiny, little things: how we treat baristas; the pets who love us; what types of vacations we like to take; where we choose to live and play; which political party we align ourselves with; or the books we prefer to read. And our lives require money. Our pets can't feed themselves. Our children rely on us. And every day, the price of goods and services swings on the pendulum of inflation.
👉🏿 What I'm trying to say is that our LinkedIn profiles and resumes are a summary of skills that aren't accurate portrayals of the reality of labor in the United States. The truth is that many of us do what we have to do. And, for Afro-Caribbean people like me, our values are rooted in our work. I cannot divorce myself from that truth while others bemoan what I already know to be true: God gives you two hands for a reason. Use them or you get nothing.
What's your labor story? Be honest. What values drive your work ethic?
#JourneyInUnemploymentLand
#OpenToWork
#Grit