ALL IN THE FAMILY

I there has been one or two times in my life that I have called my father desperately seeking advice. Although he always gives it to me even if I don’t ask, I do listen. After a while of listening I realized that it was usually really good advice. Not always, but usually. There have only been a couple times that I actually called and asked "What do I do here? I need your help".

“I hate this job Dad, it is making me miserable.”
“Then just quit.” There it was, plain and simple. "If you hate the job you work for, then do something you love, even if it takes a while to get there.”

Of course, that sounds great but there is always the problem of money holding you down. If you quit you can’t pay bills, you lose health insurance or benefits. So you deal with the shitty job that is tearing you apart little by little. Yet somehow, despite how much I’ve hated some jobs, everyday I have laughed at work. I don’t mean a forced- “I'm going to pretend that was funny even though it wasn’t, but I feel obligated to laugh since your my boss’"- laugh. I mean tears falling can’t hardly breathe laughing. The people who we work with make all the difference. They make it tolerable, until we are ready to leave. When something important happens in each other’s lives we are excited for them. When something awful happens we help them get through it.

I have found that the most amazing thing can happen when you're down, and in a rough patch. If you ask for help so many people are willing to give it until you are back on your feet, and doing whatever it may be that makes you happy. Sometimes you don’t even need to ask, people just hand it out. I once lent one of my co workers 700$ when he was in a rut. I had some extra money I had been saving to move to New York City but it would still be a while before I could go, so I offered it. I didn’t make him sign anything, which most people would say is crazy. I knew the type of person he was. He paid it back in full, all before I moved to the city. Everyone told me that you shouldn’t lend money like that to someone who wasn’t a family member. Sometimes with certain coworkers, they can be both.

I ran into him a few weeks ago, working at a much better job, back on his feet, new girlfriend, new apartment.In short, he is out of the rut. He made it a point to say to me "By the way, I will never forget what you did for me. It meant a lot."

So here’s to all the coworkers I’ve ever had. And here’s to helping each other out.