"I'm a Laughing and a Crying"
Sometimes when your a writer and you hear a story, you’ve got to tell it, like Daniel Defoe and Robinson Caruso. This story is about how Kerin, a young man from Britain who broke through old patterns and the people and situations that were limiting him to find work in another country.
I was working on my computer in the early hours of the morning in the top floor common room of It’s A Small World Hostel in Athens, Greece. Katrina from Sweden and Henri from Hungary were chatting across from me. Kerin walked in and said, “I got the job! I’ve been laughing and crying and I’m so stoked.”
Katrina said, “What happened?”
“I quit my job in my home town in England and found work with a well know company in just three days.
“I’ve been working in a hotel for four years to cover my personal expenses and pay for my education while I went to school. I just graduated with a degree in Criminal Science.
“I was getting dressed in my uniform and suddenly a wave of emotion came over me and I thought, “I can’t do this any more. My mind just sort of shifted into another dimension. I took off my uniform, put on my street clothes, went online and then made a flight reservation for Athens, Greece for that same day. Then I sent an email to my boss telling him I was sorry, but I was quitting and moving away to find another job. I said, ‘I’m doing exactly what you told me to do.’
”We were friends and he was a sort of mentor to me. He kept telling me, ‘You can do better than this, Kerin.’
“I’m from a small town where people take jobs and then stay in them for years or even their whole lives because they’re aren’t that many of them and they’re afraid they won’t find another one. One young man took a box boy position at the age of 20 and stayed in it until he was forty! ”
Katerine said in her perfect British accent, “That is just so awesome. I admire you so much. I wish I had the courage to do that.” The rest of us around the table complimented Kerin.
When I texted my friends and posted what I was doing on Facebook, they all told me I was making a mistake. They said, ‘You’re going to regret this.’
Kerin’s from a small town in England. You’ve all heard of these, or read or seen movies about them: the kind of city where everybody knows everybody else and most of the people spend their whole lives there. They do things the same way they’ve always been done from generation to generation. And nobody’s willing to do anything differently because they would be disapproved of. Usually they’re male dominated and people adamantly defend who they are and what they’re doing.
“The manager I interviewed with told me, ‘We’re not hiring you because of your education or work history, but because you’re proven you’re committed and can do the job.’
“He asked me a test question, ‘How many tennis balls can you fit into a limousine?’
“I said, ‘I don’t know the answer. First, I’d need to know the size or volume of the interior of the vehicle, then how many people and objects are in it, and finally, the size of the tennis balls. Then I could give you the answer.”
“He said, ‘That’s exactly right. That’s what we need in a software evaluator; someone who can solve problems.’
“I’m just so “sick” I can’t even sleep!”
Katerine said, ““Sick”?”
“I’m sorry, my friends and I are always making up words. “Sick” means good, happy, excited. When I go home, they’ll have invented another half-dozen new words.” We all commended him again.
“When I told my mother what I was doing, she said, ‘Kerin, you’re going to be the death of me yet!’
“It’s just the two of us and she’s be supporting me with a menial type of job on a small income. She’s lived in our town for thirty years, and has the same mind-set as the rest of the people.
“She said, ‘Kerin, before you quit a job, you’re got to have another one.’
“I’m sorry mom, I’ll find one.
“When I think back on it, I know she was right. I would have been better off taking the time to think and plan my move through.”
* * *
“On the flight to Athens I was racking my brain about what I would do. I only had a small amount of money saved up, so I was going to need to find work fast. I knew I could do it. I was determined. I thought I would even go homeless if I had to.
“For the last three days, I’ve been living in hostels and only eating about three hundred calories a day to conserve my money.
“When I got to my hostel, the clerk gave me a message from the police chief of my town. When I called him back, he said, ‘Kerin, what are you doing in Athens. You’re mother’s reported you as a “missing person”.’ He probably thought I was going to go on a crime-committing spree.
“I’m not missing. I told her what I’m doing. She’s just worried. Officer, I’m looking for work. I just had to leave my job at the hotel. I wasn’t happy and I have my degree now. I can do something more challenging and make more money. Don’t worry, I’ll find what I’m looking for. I’m not going to do anything illegal.”
“OK.”
“When I texted my friends and told them I found work, they all praised me for my daring. Now they said, ‘Way to go Kerin, we knew you could do it.’
“Then I called my mother and told her that I found a quality, high-paying job.
“Finally I emailed my boss and apologized to him again. I told him, ‘When you visit Athens, you can stay we me.’
“He messaged me, ‘Kerin, Congratulations. You’ve done the right thing.’”
