What work has taught me about people.

For whatever reason, I always thought that high school was a gateway into understanding and coping with all sorts of different people. It may appear that way at first, but in reality, high school is an entirely different universe that actually is more useful in diminishing one's social skills, rather than helping them flourish. Let's face it: my social skills are abysmal., and I'm not saying that high school is at fault here. However, since I started ninth grade, I've been waiting for the moment everyone told me I'd have in which a certain group of people or activity in school forced me out of my shell and made me happy. Sadly, it still hasn't come. In fact, I'm pretty sure school has taught me to despise people even more. Surprisingly enough, I believe that my job as a cashier at Weis Markets (w00t) is what is really teaching me how to get along with folks.


Firstly, at school, you're put in classes with those who are just as intelligent as you, a group of friends is always around the corner, and, if you really don't want to talk to anyone, no one's going to force you to. At work, it's different. My coworkers are of all different ages, intelligences, senses of humor, and lifestyles. And we're all stuck working together on the front end. If you expect that we just stand there quietly and service people for a five to eight hour shift, then you're seriously mistaken. Since I've started at Weis, I've met several people to whom I never would have dreamed of talking in school, and quite frankly, I like them. This one girl, for instance, was categorized a loser by my friends. I'd never really talked to her much at school because I had no reason to. She wasn't in any of my classes, and my friends couldn't stand being around her. Now, I happen to work with her, and somehow, through the course of boredom, me not knowing what I'm doing, and her needing a price check, we've become very good friends. And I don't see what my school posse was talking about when they said she was a loser, as, in my opinion she's a pretty cool chick. I could go in depth with other examples of people I never thought I'd talk to (the alcoholic party guy, the football player, the really pretty and popular girl), but I'm tired, so I'll just go on to my next point.


Talking to people you absolute don't know and who you probably won't ever see again is one of the most awkward things a person can do. And wouldn't you know? You can't learn it from school. I'm talking about customers, of course. I ring up the old, the young, the talkative, the impatient - I've pretty much encountered every single personality trait ever defined within a person. At first, I was deathly afraid of talking to my customers, and my mind went blank even if they'd ask me something as simple as what time I was working until. Now, I'm noticing slight improvement, and I've been making an effort at just saying stuff, whatever positive thing comes to mind. If I sound stupid, so what? I'll never see those people again, and, as I always attempt to be pleasant, an occasional good impression can't hurt, either. Maybe I'm just weird or something, but I actually do care about what these people say, no matter how trivial a detail it is in relation to my life. People are so interesting, and talking to them at work is a great way to gain insight that couldn't be gained from a school environment.


Lastly, one of the most important things I've learned is that people are ugly. The media and my high school appear to cooperate with one another to put pressure on folks like me to look awesome. Everyone seems so beautiful when you watch TV or walk through the halls. When I started work, I realized just how few people could be considered "pretty" by societal standards. I'm not saying that I think they're ugly; in reality, I think very few of these people are ugly. And I've met a variety of people since starting my position. Whether rich or poor, everyone needs to go grocery shopping at some point in time. I just think it's amusing how much importance is imposed on looking perfect when really, once you pass your mid-twenties, any hopes of achieving society's tolerated level of beauty are almost automatically obsolete. It almost makes it seem ridiculous to try to look that good now. I think I'm going to stick with the sweatshirts and tie-dye and continue to not do my hair every morning. If I'm going to look like a schlampe after thirty anyway, then I might as well get some practice now.


Well, in conclusion, I don't hate my job because it has been an awesome learning experience so far (plus I can't complain about the hundred bucks a week). I'm not saying that people are decent or anything, just that I'm happy that I'm starting to learn how to deal with them. Call me a sap, but I like the notion of getting along with everyone. It makes life easier to not have to look at someone and despise them (it does help that one of the kids I despise at work was just fired). And thus, I end this rather optimistic post in which I have begun way too many sentences with conjunctions to go to bed.

Cancel Out the Day

Haha, weird, cynical mood. Pretty soon it'll be nine months until my birthday, which basically means that eighteen years ago, I came into existence. I'm glad that tradition made us have birthdays and not conception days because I don't think I'll even be ready to be legal in November. I like getting half hour breaks at work when I've got a five hour shift. I like not having to vote and whatnot. Seventeen is honestly not a bad age, however, it is probably one of the most forgotten. Everyone puts emphasis on what they believe are the best ages, but some of the most crucial moments have happened in the years that are predecessors to my "sweet" sixteen and upcoming eighteenth birthday.

It may not be such a terrible thing that I constantly reminisce my past years and wonder how I could've been so stupidly naive. That means I learned something that changed the course of my thoughts, no matter how trivial a change it was. One thing I hope to never do is stop learning about life, the world, and my perceptions on it. There's something contradictorily satisfying about never actually being satisfied with any one answer to "Why are we here?" I find myself often amused when people say "Everything happens for a reason" or "We're all just wandering around with nothing to live for or look forward to." How do you pick? This is one of the many decisions where each side has as many positives and negatives as the other.

I can't help but smile when I realize that, since I've just stated that I hope I never cease to learn, there probably will come a time where some days only existed as fillers, and the boring events that occurr will combine with my unenthusiastic attitude to practically cancel out the day. I don't want to become a zombie, but then again, two years ago, I didn't want to become a cynic. But now I'm glad to be one. When you look at it, though, my cynicism spawned from frustrated idealism. I'm guessing zombieness can result from frustrated cynicism.