Yet another weekend passes through me, and I find myself in a situation where I want to draw myself inward and realize what I've got.
I just got back from an overnight visit in Sandusky, OH, with my high school friend, Monica. She was born and raised in OH, but relocated to Green Bay during her high school years and ended up attending Bay Port. We were great buds in high school -- took all the drafting and tech ed classes together, being the only girls in class, harassing the boys and talking smart with them. We had mutual dreams of engineering, seeing the world, etc.
After high school we split off, and she moved back to her hometown in Ohio. Off and on, she has been here since, and it was just chance that I landed in the same state as her. Years later, we have figured this out. We decided to meet last night to check out Ohio Bike Week.
There were a lot of beautiful bikes there, and we had VIP tickets to see the rock band Saliva play. However, it was the conversation we shared over the hours together, that made another light bulb go off above me.
I met her, her cousin, and Some Guy she knows through college here at Bowling Green University. It was no biggie, we walked around to check out the bikes, the little carnival foods and shops, watched Saliva play, and afterward, grabbed a table out on the patio of the back of a bar/grill along the boardwalk on the coast (of Lake Erie).
While we are sitting at this table, I am listening to each of these people talk about their lives. And I sit quietly and just listen, because I realize I've set myself up to have things a little differently than they do. Monica works as a bank teller and has been in and out of college since high school. She mentioned that there are some days where her alarm goes off, she sits up in bed, and literally has to talk herself into going in to work because she hates her job that much. Her cousin is a single mom in her mid 30s (maybe pushing 40?), who swings bartending jobs from bar to bar around town, and has asshole men for bosses that try to harass her and get her to sleep with them. And then Some Guy...well...I didn't really talk to him but he is just getting out of school and therefore thinking he is The Shit.
But here I am.....and I never feel that way. I love my job. There are days where I am sleepy and I wish I could just go in to work as a split shift, instead of walking out the door at 6 AM, but I still want to go! I enjoy my weekends, but honestly, I look forward to Mondays. I even felt this way when I have had not-so-nice bosses. I love my coworkers, and I am lucky that what I am doing, is actually my passion and not 'just' a job.
Look at all of this and realize that I am only 26 years old, and some of the stuff I get into at work makes me wonder if some people forget this is still my very first job outside of school! There are people my age that are still in college -- and acting like they are still in college, with their lifestyle.
Honda has given me so much. I believe I have a very strong work ethic, and thanks to Honda, I will likely approach any future job or career with a sense of urgency and intensity. I have a motivation to be very good at what I do, and I will strive, study, and associate myself with people that will help me become good at what I do. I have a motivation to give my employer my very best, with no ulterior motives or expectations. I am young and oh-so eager.
Outside of work, look at the lifestyle that Honda has helped me secure. I am 26, with a retirement plan and aggressive savings set up to run themselves for the rest of my life. I drive two beautiful cars and live in a quiet little clean apartment in a small farm town. I take good care of my body. I have found a few genuine friends out here that are real, down-to-earth people, and I carry them close to me.
For me to be surrounded by such a structure, and to feel this sense of accomplishment after considering all of the blood, sweat, and tears I've shed to get to where I am now - well, I will embrace it and appreciate it so much.
And if the sacrifice I have to make is to have all of this away from home and everything I've ever known and loved (reference my previous blog post) - well, then I understand that is the trade-off chosen for my life compared to the next guy. For Monica, she got to move back home and have the family that I cannot have. Yet she is in a predicament with that bank teller job. For her cousin, she has children that she loves and wants to provide for, but is treated like a piece of meat for it. Those are their trade-offs.
I recognize that everyone has a trade-off they have to make in their life. If you have it all, then what do you do next?
You cannot have your cake and eat it too...but you can at least pick out what flavor of cake you'd like to deal with.
I realize this, and it drives that much deeper for me to enjoy what I have earned.
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