Adulting, No Thanks

March 18-24, 2019

By Caitlin Smith
caitlin@dailydata.com

A few weeks ago I had the delight of speaking to a guy twice my age. He has more than twenty years of experience under his belt so I guess you can say his advice didn’t go through one ear and out the other. He said something along the lines of if you don’t love what you do everyday, the money isn’t going to matter in the long run. 

I had to really think on it because in my mind, money is money – as long as it’s in my pocket, I could care less about the job itself. Hand me my check so I can deposit and splurge. Now obviously, I’ve learned how to better handle my finances, but what that guy said made me ponder on all the jobs I’ve had to endure over the years to get to where I am now. 

First up, retail. Man, retail sucks. However, it was a learning experience for the books. I now understand why I hate folding clothes so much – it gave my back and legs pain to stand for eight hour shifts. Most of all, it made me realize that you will have some of the strangest encounters at the register. 

Fun fact, my first job was at Burlington Coat Factory. I was young and fresh out of high school. Over the span of three years, I had managed to work in every department of the store, from managing the fitting room to checking people out at the register. While I do enjoy shopping for myself, I don’t like helping other people shop.

Next up, hospitality. I was a broke college student, so whatever job was offered to me, I took it. I was making my way through a plethora of retail jobs, none of which made me happy. I thought, working at a hotel sounds cool – and that’s just what I did, I got a job at a hotel. Here, I thought people in stores were bad, seeing how people live was even worse.

Now I won’t air anyone’s dirty laundry but I will say this. Whenever you stay at a hotel, be grateful for the housekeepers that come in your room every day to make your bed, vacuum your floor, and wipe down your toilet. They’re on their feet all day, tugging linen carts and trash can barrels. Next time you see one, tell them, “thank you for your service.”

Here’s the big one, the one that did it for me … health care. I worked at two of the most known hospitals in Little Rock. As a patient care tech, I did things I had never done before. For instance, I had to learn how to give CPR, figure out someone’s blood pressure manually, and draw blood. None of that was the bad part, however, it was the patients. You will never meet more cranky grandpas than you will at a hospital. 

The hours weren’t my favorite either. If you didn’t know, most nurses and nursing aids work in 12 hour shifts. To indulge myself, I worked the night shift because I thought it would be more cool. Boy, was I wrong. 

Working at a hospital was my pivotal point. I was making decent money, but I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. Most patient care techs are in training to be nurses. I didn’t want to be a nurse, I wanted to write. After all, I didn’t get a writing degree for nothing. 

So here I am folks … a happy, model citizen doing what I love. Writing.