To the people who work to better the world

I have always admired many health care professions and have wanted to work in these areas myself for some time. Primarily because I saw this as one of the few ways I could really apply myself to something I love, not just for a good salary, and not even because I love it, but because I simply wanted to improve the world around me.

I have spent a significant amount of time working in hospitality and recently have started my Nursing Diploma. After I completed my first clinical placement, I found going back to work at a cafe to be entirely dissatisfying. I have always enjoyed the art of being a barista, but after spending a couple of weeks helping people who were suffering, to walk, eat, go to the toilet and in general live their lives in reasonable comfort, I found I couldn't bring myself to care about whether my customers' coffee was "hot enough" or "strong enough".

I've noticed many times how easy it is to compare suffering. Whether its because of the quality of your coffee, or your life. It's a human quality to seek attention and to want to demonstrate that "I've had the worst childhood" or "My relationship was the most abusive" or simply "My day has been the shittiest". It's a way for people to gain sympathy. I know a lot of people view this behaviour as toxic, and "attention seeking" is not typically something you'd want to be described as. However I've begun to change the way I view attention seeking.

I often use an analogy of food, with attention being food for your mind. Kindness, empathy and true friendship are nutritious, feel good foods. Sympathy for that shitty day that you had is a chocolate bar. Now don't get me wrong, chocolate every now and then is fine, as long as it doesn't become a staple of your diet, in the same way that seeking sympathy is an unhealthy staple of conversation. The more you eat chocolate or the more deprived you are of proper nutrition, the more you begin to crave that chocolate. Just as "attention seeking" people crave the only source of "mental nutrition" for their mind that they can find.

This pattern applies itself in many different ways, including the "I work the hardest" or "my job is the most important" attitude which I myself began to fall into, even though I am only a student. It took me a moment to realise, but when I did I saw how it affected my attitude towards the people around me. These were people who had equally important jobs to go to and simply wanted a coffee. Not that I was outwardly rude to anyone, but I adopted an inward feeling of self importance which did nothing to make me feel good.

What I've come to realise from observing my own changes in attitude is that everything is relative. When I was 6, I thought I was the unluckiest person because my brother got more attention than me. When I was 15, the end of my 2 month relationship felt like the end of the world. And now as a 19 year old, I have let myself be bothered by someone who's coffee wasn't hot enough. So who am I to judge anyone else for their subjective "sufferings"? Who am I to judge to what extent one profession is helping the world around them?

Each job plays a role in society more important than I realised before. The loss of so many jobs during our current pandemic has only highlighted this. Now, more than ever, I am grateful to every person who contributes in their own unique way.

A haircut may not be such a pivotal moment in someone's life as their high risk back surgery, but perhaps a haircut is exactly what that man is looking forward to most when he is finally discharged. To learn to appreciate the importance of these smaller moments which make up our day to day life has changed my perspective.

So whether you're a hairdresser, or you drive a garbage truck, teach, fight fires, sweep roads, conduct an orchestra, or work in health care, Thank You.