Jobs Suck, But We Like Money

My cousin's mom, Lisa, repeated this sentiment last weekend as we were getting off of our shift at King's Island's Winter Fest.

It couldn't be more true. It's why I could never quite trick myself into believing things would get better, that getting to know the same people year after year, people that constantly want to talk about hating their jobs-- I wasn't about that life. So I'd taken a lot of jobs I was overqualified for, just to avoid sticking to some stagnant, joyless existence. It sucked too, never making money to reflect my experience, corporations putting citizens in a position where they are underpaid for their skills, under the guise that they are new and have to always work their way up. Let's face it, after a probationary period, salaries need to be no less than living wage. But capitalism... I'm not saying all of its concepts are bad, but corporations get away with too much shit and it's keeping our economy from recovering. It's keeping struggling adults struggling.

UpShift is a godsend for a dreamer like me. I get the impression that I weird people out a bit. I don't try to talk to anyone, but I'm polite when spoken to. I don't make a lot of eye contact, I stumble on simple words, but I work hard. While, yes, I'm overqualified, I do get to make the wages I'm qualified for even if the job is anything but suitable to my skills. My pain levels have been higher and resting doesn't make me feel rested, but I can work as much as I want then just as easily take as much downtime as I need. I can fill it with writing and drawing and dreaming of a life where my skills are exactly what people want.

It's a wonderful service that gives me hope again. It doesn't tell me I need to follow society's darling model to be worthwhile. I can save for what I need to bring attention to my creative pursuits. I can take vacations when I damn well want. I can work on my writing when I'm on vacation (hello, writer's retreat). 

Baby boomers don't really get it. They think they have to worry about me. Too little, too late, since their excess put my generation here. But no. I found a way to finish college and I found a job service tailored to my life goals. Sure, I'm hopelessly in debt because we still have a long way to go to compete with the happiest countries on Earth (the ones that might tax the hell out of you but make sure that money means never paying for medical care or education)... But I make do. Sometimes I even take a bullet to catch a criminal, which means I took on more debt than I could handle to expose a broken system.

Lol one time, I even purposely made a bogus purchase, just so I could have my bank investigate what I suspected were phishers. I got the money back and they got shut down. Okay, I actually did that a few times, but I knew my bank protected my money and I would get it back. Going through safer channels like police reports usually never gets investigated before phishers can hit thousands of people. You'd be surprised how fast banks can expedite this.

So I'm clearly no stranger to risks. They may not be the smartest, but that's the point of risks--that they may make you look stupid. You still have to believe that some good will come out of them-- a lesson or a blessing, as the saying goes, but acting with integrity and an openness to accepting the consequences is as important as the risk itself. It didn't matter that I might put my own security at risk sometimes. I had a hard life from a young age and that taught me that security is as much as illusion as anything.

Our work is never done. We have this perception of coasting on a victory, but I know that the hustle is for life. Most of my generation doesn't even get to consider retirement so we are pioneers of a life no one can really advise us on. We worry more about our health because it's a very real possibility we'll die of some stupidly preventable disease. Not to mention, our bodies, if they reach old age, will still need to be viable for work.

So, yes, my generation needs dreams. Our Great Depression might be laughed at but our reality is that we can't afford to let people tell us how to live. We have to be the arbiters of our own fortune and luck because the odds are against us. To stay viable and optimistic, we have to be willing to shut out the noise and find our own paths. And maybe somewhere down the line a future generations can dig us out. I hope my nephews' get to live a much better life.

Although, what is 'better'? I don't consider my life a failure. I don't suck at life. I wasn't dealt the best hand, but I have amazing friends and family that came from those struggles. I have people in my life that enhance my optimism and I have these abundant inner reserves that don't let me give up. I am able to be a wonderful role model and deliver my perspective with the power of comfort in solitude yet an ability to adapt and contribute in team situations. I'm comfortable with letting people teach me and generous when it's in my power to teach.

What I feel is better may be a life that doesn't challenge them enough. I want them to know what it's like to be graceful when you need others but empowered to handle being needed. We all want a world where there aren't gates put up that future generations are locked out of, where they at least have the opportunity to climb and overcome. Yet that generation, they will probably be better equipped to handle what left us bewildered.

Jobs will suck, but we'll keep being pioneers of our own destiny.