How I Shared.

Hello!


I have forgotten the point where I left and is confused on where exactly to start! Anyway, my summer break has been a full-filling one up to this point. I've done a lot, contributed a lot and engaged a lot more with people - high and low - knowing what went wrong and how to make them right. 


I'd love to share this one story from my own personal experience in Seoul  (nope, not about the tragedy just yet) . It's still far from an eyes-opening experience maybe, but I grew up in the process. In fact, I walked so far in such a short time. :)


So when I was in Seoul, I suggested to my grandfather that I would want to seek for a job the normal people do. The unfortunate ones who don't have solid education background, zero connections - basically how those people start from scratch. Knowing him, I got a good lecture on NOT continuing that wish of mine.


I did it anyway. Not because I was stubborn but because I was determined. I've so many friends who came from great families and we all (even myself) have the tendency to forget that a lot more people out there don't have what we have - little to none. Hence, I would like to learn and seek what the real deal is and where real money comes from.


Story begins...


I walked down every street and aisle and it was so hard to get a plain job. Not the extraordinaire corporate jobs, nope! Just a sales assistant maybe or even a store helper. There were so many adverts pasted but no real jobs. Thank god, I got a job on my second day and it was lovely - nope, not the wage - the process was really really hard but I felt like I finally deserved something in my life.


Where I worked : Family Mart.


It's a convenience store operating 24 hours ... something like 7-Eleven in Malaysia and C-Store in New York. And I had to work on shifts thus it got me thinking. How do I commute?? How do they commute?! I didn't know a more brilliant way and the subway isn't very near to my house so I cycled to work every single day. 


It was scary at first. Sometimes, my shift finished at 5am and some other times, I had to start work at 2pm (when it's so hot outside) so it was very very challenging not getting help from anyone. 


What I did:


Everything! 


1) I held a mop for the first time in my life, and I didn't know how to rock it. So my manager got really mad she called me an idiot and threw me the mop back at me.
2) I was taller than the rest of my female colleagues so I got bullied a lot - they kept on asking me to do work, to arrange the items on the higher racks when they could use the available bench. 
3) You think it's easy to operate a cash machine? Nope, not so, I would say. I got confused and panicked this one day. Customers were queueing and I couldn't quite manage it and caused a PMS-y colleague to get mad at me for disturbing her at the ladies. Geez, sorry! 
4) I also had to do a whole lot of cleaning up. Cans, noodle cups, spilled hot water - it was a lot of work.
5) Managed stocks. I had to count stocks, sometimes the stocks come at the wee hours in the morning so I cannot afford to not focus plus I had to arrange everything in the store room after all that have settled.


What I experienced : 


Drunk men, got harassed, they thought I was a joke so they tried to be funny, called for help, ended up shouting so loud I lost my voice after, knock something (I cannot recall) to one of the man's head that had brought him to sanity.... gosh, too many things happened.


Rude customers who would flash their money in front of me and said, "you are just a cashier" and "who do you think you are?". I didn't understand why would anyone do that, really. :( Sad to know it's still happening! 


What I loved: 


On the last day, I gave everyone a nice, classical purse and everyone thought they were fakes. Ha-ha. It was just a small gesture and even after all that I had gone through (and put to go through) , I respected them for the experience they had given me - probably something none in my network can ever give me! But the real significance of the purse is for them to make that purse as a bench-mark; for them to start saving, for them to create new & better lives and also slotted in some name cards of the people who would help them - education-wise, monetary...  


Dare :


Dare you do the same?


1- Instead of condemning, go down to their level and understand what they go through.


You may think they've zero morales - bullying and whatnot but why not try to see the stress and work-load they're put on but paid so minimal and don't get the sense of respect from the community.


2- Who are you?


Instead of saying "who are they?" to them, why not ask, "who are we?". WIthout our families, who are we? Without God's generosity, who are we? Without luck, who are we?


3- Know what you deserve.


Until you make your own penny, you should never judge another person's wealth or be biased about what they can do in life or how far they can go because you don't know and you will never know. Everyone can make money, the only thing that differs them is how much they can make. With our backgrounds, we may can do so much, but with our real efforts, things can become doubtful.


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I hope I have touched you in one way or another. Pardon me if there were sentences which were too direct or have irritated anyone at all. I'm a human, after all. :)


Really hope to have more time to write in this space in the future. Please leave behind your links to share your space with me as well!


Lots of love,
Freida.