Thursday Thought
May 4, 2016
University of Colorado, May 2013. Three years ago this weekend I graduated college with a BA in Communications. Upon the same day of the commencement where I heard Julie Andrews speak, I took the Oath of an Officer and joined the Texas National Guard.
Upon finishing college, your next step is usually finding a job, if you haven't already found one. Nowadays this is a challenge for those graduating college with middle class requirement of a bachelor's degree. There are many reasons or excuses why finding a job is so difficult, but that's what I'm here writing about today.
I did not have a job after graduation. Technically, the National Guard is a job, but it does not provide a livable wage, even for an officer. I left my then-girlfriend and my friends in Colorado to move back home one month after graduation. It was easier to do my weekend training and much easier to afford than staying for two more months on little to no money.
Living at home is nice, it's easy. There's always food to eat, the power is always on, and the messes are miraculously cleaned by a mysterious caregiver. It allows you to become complacent and enjoy what you have. One day, about two weeks after moving back, I received an offered to help the neighbor from across-the-street with a job he was working on. I reluctantly accepted, not sure what to expect.
First day on the job we went out to a widow's home. She was preparing her large lot and very nice house for sale. The tasks we had to do were obviously items she could not do on her own. I began to work away at these tasks and labor away day-to-day. Working from 9 AM to 6 PM, drinking black iced coffee by the gallon, eating fast food for sustenance; I was living a different life than I had expected where I might have been working at a desk or in a cubicle.
Throughout that summer, I worked until I was tired and kept pushing onward. During projects, I would learn the "shortcuts" that would save me time instead of doing it the way my father showed me growing up. These tactics were designed to get it done right without relying on the safety net of dropcloths per se. Precautions were in place to help you get the job done quickly that sometimes forgave the messy manner, instead I learned to work with precision and to pay attention to what is going on at all times.
During these hour-long drives out to her residence, I had interesting conversations with the fellow I worked with during this time. His upbringing in New England provided a rich conversation and a perspective contrast to my experience of a Texas-raised life. I was learning more about the world beyond my own experiences and education. While I worked hard physically, it prepared me mentally through lessons of persistence, patience, hard work, consistency, and so many more.
Working as what I call now an "Independent Contractor," which was really a "Handy-for-Hire," I changed my views of working and making money. Most valuable lesson I learned that summer was about doing work you can take pride in and be willing to put your name on, because if you don't want to sign off on it, it's probably crappily done. I also learned about seeing opportunities in times where there is not light and no clear path, if you are willing to move forward and do more then the opportunities will show themselves.
Without that summer of working with my hands and putting down those $170 textbooks, I would probably be more entitled and a lot less driven. Blue Collar work is tiring and tough, White Collar work is intellectual and methodical. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, if you have the option as a millennial to work with your hands for a summer (or longer) in a job where you have wipe sweat off your brow and don't receive public praise for a job well done, I can guarantee you will become a better member of society and different professional.
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