"As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I do believe that one of the most fantastic feelings in the world is as a direct result of proving yourself capable of something that the masses doubted you could do.

Although I believe wholeheartedly that in the near future, I shall be living my photographic 'rock and roll fantasy' [a la Bad Company], my day job while attending art school is waitressing at a popular diner in the South Side of the city. I have been stuck working the 2-10 shift since I began there, and have attempted countless times to work the coveted weekend night shift, even on a trial basis. Every time, I have been told that I would be unable to handle it and that I'm "far too nice" to work that shift. [The diner is open 24 hours, located on a street full of nothing but bars, and on Friday and Saturday nights is packed with droves of drunk people. We even have a bouncer.] However, yesterday, there was a call-off, and they needed one of the '2-10 girls' to pull a double and work the night shift until 4 in the morning. I volunteered myself, as this was my chance to prove them wrong.

[This is all leading somewhere, I promise.]

Before the shift, some of the 'night crew' came in early, making remarks along the lines of "you're going to be miserable" or "you're going to fail." Pre-shift, I was told, "You can't be you; you can't be nice to these people, like you normally are with your tables. You have to be mean."

I ignored it all and decided that I was going to do it and I would be doing it MY way. I was as nice as ever to my tables, and surprise surprise, they were quite receptive. These people are drunk. If you get stressed out and give them the slightest hint of an attitude, of course they are going to reciprocate with twenty times the negativity. But, rather than being a buzzkill, I went with it. I was bubbly. I made my par for the course corny jokes, smiled, and laughed at theirs. I even had a table pull me aside and tell me that I was far too nice for this job and hand me a $20 tip. After the rush, the kitchen manager told me I did a great job [earlier, he had made jokes that he would 'take it easy on me.'], and some of the staff inquired if I would want to work that shift every night.

When questioned as to how much I had made, I lied, claiming somewhere in the neighborhood of $80, which is what the rest of the staff had made. However, truth be told, I made about $120 in less than five hours. The best victories are silent ones.



[I told you this was all leading somewhere...]

Don't let the doubt of others transcend into your own self-perception.
Chances are, you are worth and are capable of far more than most will give you credit for.
Only you know what you are truly capable of.

"As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

If others continuously avow that you cannot do something, it should become your personal mission to disprove their statements/thoughts. You are merely 'standing in your own way' if you agree and give up.

Also, do not adapt yourself to conform to what is 'necessary for success.' If you have faith that success can be achieved without altering who you are, it can be. It is all a matter of your own perceptions and beliefs intermingling with your situation. Never lower your expectations of yourself. I was told that I could not be nice, but it was not in my character to behave in that manner, and by refusing to conform to expectations, I succeeded. It is easy to blend in with masses, but much more difficult to achieve success by separating yourself from them.

Of course, after working a double shift and running around for 15 straight hours, I have spent the entirity of the day drifting in and out of sleep, and my body has needed some recuperation time today. However, it was vastly worth it, and I am left with a deep feeling of satisfaction. Even if I am not given the night shift after this, I have proven to all those who doubted that I CAN do it, and THAT is what matters most in all of this. The satisfaction was worth the effort. The 'juice was worth the squeeze.'

I am going to go back to bed.
Stay true to yourself and give 'em hell.