I can remember people from childhood who easily look upon peers that seem to be of lower financial status than they are. That’s the kind of environment I grew up in here in the Philippines.
Probably, I will never forget how they look at you, sneer at your clothes, and snide at you when they know what kind of house you live in.
These very same people are condemning to the lowly and coy to those that are superior to them.
Sometimes I wonder where they are now and whether they have changed or remained the same.
And now that I am almost thirty, I realize that growing up is not easy. I can only imagine how our parents have worked hard just to put food on our table, to provide our basic needs such as education (and a lot of emphasis towards getting a degree when you are a Filipino), and at the same time, provide us a fulfilling childhood.
I can tell you, looking for a job where you can definitely say you’re happy working with is never easy. It’s not just about the pay, but also about the workplace culture, the benefits, the people, the management, and the system.
And if you want to venture into business, you need to be adaptable and flexible yet solve a specific problem.
I’ve learned that for you to become all these things, you need to go beyond the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” where you respond with, “I want to become a (insert a career-type here).“
That instead of getting a career as an end-goal, you should be able to answer the question, “What do you want to contribute?“
Maybe it’s all that matters.
And if you still think that the reason why some people are low-wage earners is because they’re lazy, then you have to look closer. Look into their lives, look into their story.
If you don’t see laziness, addiction, and vices there, maybe, they’re caught up with their circumstance. Maybe they are under systems that do not compensate them well. And maybe, you can do something about it.
At the same time, teach your children how to kindly treat others. So that children of the future don’t have to experience what I did.
We are all people.
And I realized that it’s one thing to grow up, another to see another human in somebody else’s eyes.
jessa 