The other day a good friend of mine joined me at work for half a day, it so happened that I felt some help with a project would be nice and I know said friend could do with some extra cash so it made sense to include her.
Anyways, it was the usual work load and we got home about the time we normally do (which is well after 7pm). Sitting in the lounge over a cup of coffee my friend piped up saying "I'm so tired, I cant believe you do this more than once a week!" And I really couldn't help but think 'You only did half a day, sweetie, I worked a full day', but I merely nodded and said it is usually 4 or 5 times a week I work like this.
But it got me thinking, you see many of my friends and even my family (cousins, grandparents, aunts & uncles) tend to have this idea that I don't work very hard. Well, me and my parents are a pretty hard working team, as fortunately I work partly for them and partly for myself. But still, these people who claim to know me well, don't realize that I actually do work. Maybe its because I'm self employed (working for my parents' small home run business kinda also counts as self-employed), maybe it's because I just really don't do mornings well, or maybe its because I choose to spend 70 or more hours a month doing my favourite volunteer work. Whatever it is, my friends and family generally all have the same reaction when they spend a day with me at my work, "Wow, I never knew you worked so hard!"
As much as I even sometimes feel a little lazy, and many people berate me as being a lazy person, I got to thinking and realized I actually do work flipping hard. I have to, its called survival.
I thought of just for argument's sake putting a post to the affect of "A DAY IN MY LIFE" and explaining what my usual day to day life is like. But when I tried to do that, I realised that working in the recreation & tourism industry, I really don't have a 'typical day', I have a somewhat typical week, but then again that depends on if its in holiday season or out of holiday season.
You see, just because a person does not work or even live their life according to the "normal" standards set out in the world around us, that doesn't mean they are lazy. Just because I don't work a 9-5 office job, or even a 7pm-4am/8am-5pm shift job doesn't mean I don't work. Just because I sleep till 10am every day, doesn't mean I'm sleeping too much.
So please, I beg you, use the old adage of "don't judge until you've walked in their shoes". Because there are people all around you who are like a square peg being forced to fit into the round holes that the world around us calls normal. But there truly is no such thing as normal. How do I know? DNA is unique, that alone should tell you that every human being is an individual. None of us should be forced into a mold that is called "normal", embrace your uniqueness, if people don't know your life inside out, well tough for them, don't let their messed up opinions ruin your day or try to change your DNA and your uniqueness!
Don't be lazy, do go out there and be the best man or woman you can be. But don't try to be the best man or woman someone else might be.
Oh and in case you're wondering about a typical "Week in my life", that will be the subject of a blog to come in the not too distant future.
