An interesting question...
Today was a weird day at work... many mixed feelings, and many thoughts running through my head that kept me from jumping up and down for joy.
Usually, you would find me talking and joking with the customers, asking the questions, and trying hard to seem very interested in their lives' problems that so many times they love to share. But today something was different. I wanted to be sociable, but I couldn't do more than smile, and jut wish each of them a good day. After three hours of work, I felt like I was just a robot, trying to be nice, and to make people feel good walking in. I let myself carried away by some crazy plans I have, and I got pulled out of it by an interesting customer. A guy came in, and wanted to pay the road tax. I smiled, went over to the computer, asked the minimum number of questions - For ow long is the tax? When should be the start date? ... and the rest, started typing the stuff, and stared at the screen, hoping the network would work faster. Then, he asked me an interesting question:
"Do you like what you do?"
I stared at him for a second, with the smile stuck on my face, and said "Yes, I do. I will like better though what I will do once I get my degree, and that is programming. I love working here because I get to talk to a lot of people, and I'll be sad to lose that... " I quickly changed the situation, turning it to me asking him the same question, and he talked about his passion, and how doing what he liked was what mattered most in his life.
The conversation made me think about it a lot. Will I really love working in an office, on a computer? Wouldn't I long to be somewhere else talking to people? I love people, but I love programming also... Maybe if i become a teacher, I will have both! I wish I could become a university teacher, and teach here, in Arad, to show everyone what teaching actually means. That it's not about how much theory you can memorize and recite, but how many things you can actually do by applying the theory. Someone has already worked hard to have all the theory figured out. Now we have to figure out how to use it.
It's amazing how much can one learn and discover even from doing something that is not the ideal job! Maybe we have to start somewhere low to learn the lessons we need to get higher, or to discover who we really are, and what we want to do with our lives. But it's up to us if we want to learn from our experiences or not.
Usually, you would find me talking and joking with the customers, asking the questions, and trying hard to seem very interested in their lives' problems that so many times they love to share. But today something was different. I wanted to be sociable, but I couldn't do more than smile, and jut wish each of them a good day. After three hours of work, I felt like I was just a robot, trying to be nice, and to make people feel good walking in. I let myself carried away by some crazy plans I have, and I got pulled out of it by an interesting customer. A guy came in, and wanted to pay the road tax. I smiled, went over to the computer, asked the minimum number of questions - For ow long is the tax? When should be the start date? ... and the rest, started typing the stuff, and stared at the screen, hoping the network would work faster. Then, he asked me an interesting question:
"Do you like what you do?"
I stared at him for a second, with the smile stuck on my face, and said "Yes, I do. I will like better though what I will do once I get my degree, and that is programming. I love working here because I get to talk to a lot of people, and I'll be sad to lose that... " I quickly changed the situation, turning it to me asking him the same question, and he talked about his passion, and how doing what he liked was what mattered most in his life.
The conversation made me think about it a lot. Will I really love working in an office, on a computer? Wouldn't I long to be somewhere else talking to people? I love people, but I love programming also... Maybe if i become a teacher, I will have both! I wish I could become a university teacher, and teach here, in Arad, to show everyone what teaching actually means. That it's not about how much theory you can memorize and recite, but how many things you can actually do by applying the theory. Someone has already worked hard to have all the theory figured out. Now we have to figure out how to use it.
It's amazing how much can one learn and discover even from doing something that is not the ideal job! Maybe we have to start somewhere low to learn the lessons we need to get higher, or to discover who we really are, and what we want to do with our lives. But it's up to us if we want to learn from our experiences or not.
I have a hard time too sometimes because I'm not in my ideal job, but life really isn't about the best job or having the nicest things. It's about how we treat people and glorify God. I always love reading your thoughts Eni!
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