ipl-logo

My First Job

584 Words3 Pages

To put it simply, my first job was a very rough line of work. It was one in which I produced copious amounts of sweat, clashed with ludicrous heat, and contended with jagged drill bits that cut me frequently. My first day on the job, I made the mistake of not wearing sunscreen. My skin was not used to being exposed to the sun for that long, and it burnt me until I was redder than the devil. During my time working, I entered some very dangerous areas. By a wide margin, the worst area I worked in was just south of Monroe, in Richwood, Louisiana. In Richwood, Ticheli Road took the cake for being the absolute worst stretch of civilization I had ever seen. I honestly feared for my life when cars would drive by, to put things in perspective. The whole experience opened up my eyes to the extremely poverty-stricken areas of our country. In these areas, the true colors of people are …show more content…

For one, I grew more resilient. Once, I was tasked with moving a drill bit into a truck. As I set it down, the serrated edge sliced my hand down to the muscle. Since I was not able to treat the wound properly, I simply doused the cut with water, and within minutes I was back to work. Incidents like this developed me as a person. Seeing poverty in person taught me that one mistake can leave you in a very poor state.
My first job served as a wake up call for me. I bore witness to the struggles of poverty. In poverty, there are good people, and there are bad people. Good people end up poor due to cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have seen the effort from those people to escape their situation. However, some people are poor simply through laziness.
Overall, my first job was a solid experience. I learned a great deal about the world, and the people in it. No matter race, creed, sex, or nationality, one thing rings true. No matter what, good people and bad people will always exist, as long as humans can think for

Show More
Related

Ark Aid Street Mission: Observation Report

1814 Words | 8 Pages

Not everyone is entitled to a well paying job, or entitled to all the resources they want or need. This experiences really changed the way I see life and made me really appreciate all that I have in life. I am thankful for everything I have, and will donate to charities such as The Ark when I have the

Read More

Sonia Sotomayor

912 Words | 4 Pages

Every day we are challenged and faced with many struggles that we have to overcome in order to go about our every-day lives. In Sonia Sotomayor’s book she shows us how most of her childhood she was faced with new struggles every day, and how overcoming them helped her to be the person she is today. Being brought up in a poor society, Sonia had to make sure she kept on track, and had to make sure that she didn’t get caught up in the outside drama. Poverty has a huge impact on the way a person acts and builds a person’s character. How you face poverty and how you overcome it will let you do what you have to do to become a better and more successful person.

Read More

David K. Shipler's The Working Poor: Invisible In America

1705 Words | 7 Pages

Critical Review The Working Poor: Invisible in America David K. Shipler is a book that could be most accurately described as eye-opening. Shipler opens up the book on his claim that “nobody who works hard should be poor in America.” America is built upon the idea that the harder one works, the better off one will be. Shipler then goes on to explain how the poor, often times, work the hardest jobs and are put into the worse conditions, but still do not grow to become the most successful. Using their lives as examples, Shipler illustrates the struggles the working poor face while attempting to escape poverty.

Read More

Book Thief Loss

703 Words | 3 Pages

The story shows how you should always be thankful for what you have because it could be gone within a second. Growing up underprivileged definitely teaches you things that you would not have learned or viewed in that way if you were middle class/upper class. Growing up poor can have a huge effect upon yourself, but you learn, develop and become

Read More

Intolerance Of Poverty In Gary Soto's The Jacket

725 Words | 3 Pages

One example of this is when Gary takes off the coat, because he would rather be cold than look poor and be made fun of. “Even though it was cold, I took off the jacket during lunch and played kickball in a thin shirt, my arms feeling like braille from goose bumps,” (Soto 5). The fact that Gary preferred to freeze shows just how strong his resentment towards his own poverty really is. Things do not improve for Gary as time goes on. His classmates start to avoid him, rather than be associated with his poverty.

Read More

Peace Corps Accomplishments

484 Words | 2 Pages

I woke up every morning before dawn to work a full day in agriculture and ended the day singing with kids from the hostel. The work was hard and exhausting, however at the end of our two weeks, I cried. Not for the work, but for the people whom I had worked with. We could barely speak to one another, but created a relationship out of hugs, smiles, and laughs. I learned a great deal about myself, about the strength I had and what I was capable of.

Read More

Racism In ZZ Packer's Short Story 'Brownies'

1027 Words | 5 Pages

A common question arises in philosophy: are people born good or evil? Many believe that humans have an innate desire to exclude minorities and discriminate against people different from them. Although discriminatory trends are prevalent in society, who’s to say whether it is an inborn or an externally imposed tendency? In her short story “Brownies” ZZ Packer intersperses exposition to show that people are not inherently racist but become this way as a result of experience and communal self-reinforcement; as children lose their innocence, so too do they lose their tolerance. Racism is a learned attribute.

Read More

Long Way Gone Lessons

593 Words | 3 Pages

Learning a Life Lesson Reading A Long Way Gone, a book about child soldiers, in Sierra Leone during the 1990’s made me feel disgusted because of the treatment of the young children. Reading about the most disturbing sequence in life, dealing with children my age or under made me realize how much life means. I could not imagine ever going through anything that will determine my life well-being. This made me look forward to more in life and appreciate the life I do live, because everyone doesn't have it like I do.

Read More

Summary: The Book Thief

692 Words | 3 Pages

“Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” Anne Frank wrote this in her diary during a horrific and devastating time. During the Holocaust about eleven million people lost their lives to this evil time. Even though people can be very cruel and rude and do selfless actions. I believe that everyone can be a very good person at heart.

Read More

Similarities Between Harris And Oprah Winfrey

139 Words | 1 Pages

and I think that because I live in such poverty and dismay it makes it easier for me to appreciate the little things, like the birds singing outside my window. I 'm sure that Oprah and Bernard Harris thought while growing up in poverty that they would not be able to do what others can and because they succeeded with nothing, I know

Read More

Are We Naturally Good Or Evil In Lord Of The Flies

2027 Words | 9 Pages

As demonstrated by the influence of nationality and examples seen in Lord of the Flies. The question of whether humans are inherently good or evil can never truly be answered; however, why choose to believe that evil triumphs good? Negativity can be contagious and one negative thought can spread to others like wildfire. Beliefs that humans come naturally evil promote self-hate and justification of violence against other people. Serial killers should not be forgiven by the principle that their nature destinies them to commit evil.

Read More

Bell Hooks Seeing And Making Culture Representing The Poor Summary

1171 Words | 5 Pages

She begins by talking about her college experience of how her own professors and fellow students believed and “always portrayed the poor as shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy” (Paragraph 5). This experience shocked her because she never grew up materialistic. She brings up the fact that she is the person with the strong and good values that she has today because she grew up in a poor family. In culture, the poor are always being stereotyped.

Read More

Personal Statement: Growing Up In Poverty

71 Words | 1 Pages

Certainly, growing up in poverty is a strength I hold dear to my heart. Surely, it was a struggle my parents, myself, and my brothers, however, my challenging past influenced me to be a hard worker, show up to work 15 minutes early, and perform my duties so I can have a job. Lastly, growing up in this financial condition has taught me how to value life instead of personal belongings.

Read More

Socioeconomic Status Affecting My Childhood

389 Words | 2 Pages

For the first time I was independent and alone, it was difficult and the loneliest time of my life. This experience strengthened my personality, and it gave me a lot of hope. I met a lot of good people, it was an amazing experience many people did a lot good to me and I think that is why is one of the reasons that i want to give back to others. 4.

Read More

Critical Self Reflection: My First Experience Of Poverty In Canada

1184 Words | 5 Pages

Critical Self Reflection Poverty is an experience that touches many people. I believe my first experience with poverty came in elementary school. Everyday, my mother would come to pick me up from school and we would regularly drive by a man begging on the street. Often, we would stop and give him a piece of fruit or a granola bar.

Read More

More about My First Job

Related Topics

Open Document