There comes a point in everyone’s life when they realize that they hate their boss, the real defining point comes when you decide how much and what you are going to do about it. I have had this realization many times, each time knowing fully that one day I would not have a boss, that I would be my own boss. I have half-heartedly tried this a handful of times and never gotten very far of the ground with my dreams of independence, never really having a game-plan but just knowing that I wanted it to be mine, not somebody else’s.
My most recent epitome of hatred snuck up on me and smacked me in the face like a brick wall. I had been working at a local coffee shop for the past month and a half when out of no where the owner calls me up, accuses me of stealing from them, and fires me. Me, being the emotional, shockable girl I am, could barely get a word in before the conversation was over even though the transaction had involved me calling her back because the call was dropped. I had a brief, anaemic moment where I tried to stand up for myself and insist that I had payed for everything I ever ate or drank at the store. Of course it was useless and the words ‘we’re going to have to end your employment with us’ came soon after, and that was that. I didn’t defend myself more because a) I didn’t really want to work there anymore and b) I am terrible at standing up for myself... it is painful how bad I am at it. If someone pushes the right buttons and I just happen to be feeling like a badass that day, then I will put them in there place. But when it comes down to me defending my honor on a daily basis, I let people walk all over me. I let people walk all over me like I am a piece of new shag carpet. They don’t just tread lightly. I will let those bastards run their toes through my fucking carpet pile and I will take it. This is by far my least favorite trait. I am working on it, and I am getting better, but obviously I did not take this most recent prime opportunity for self-improvement.
The part I hate the most is that I let this happen in the first place. I practically made it happen. I handed them the opportunity to give me a livelihood, trick me into thinking I have attained stability, and then rip it all away from me in one clean motion. I neutralized my personality down to a vapid, perky barista on a daily basis so I could make a measly $7.25 an hour. I passively nodded as I listened to my manager tell me how important she thinks suggestive selling is. I have always hated when someone latches onto someone else’s idea’s like that just because they are told to, just because it is easier than coming up with an idea of their own.
When I look back on the whole situation, I truly am glad that I got fired. It was as if the universe was giving me a good kick in the ass. I now see that that job was the last thing I needed, and sometimes the only person you can really rely on is yourself. I was actually starting to think that selling my time for minimum wage and obediently answering to pretentious coffee snobs was a good idea, and that needed to be stopped. I am not saying that I will never work for someone again or that having a job is a bad idea. I am simply saying that when I do have another job, I sure as hell will be respected as a human being. Until then, it’s back to pure self-sufficiency.
