Conversation 101

"Do you like your job?"

Thus asked one of the CNAs working at the nursing home.

My response was to roll my eyes, shake my head vigorously and give a loud sigh.

"You hate it, huh?"

Another sigh from me.

"If you only knew...", I said.

"Why? Coz its hard?", he asked

I thought about that for a full minute, before giving my answer. Is my job a hard one? No, it's not. It's too easy. Tiring maybe, but too easy.

"You see, I feel like my brain's getting wasted here, y'know. I don't get to think at all. Everything is just automatic. Everything is laid out for you. They give you tests about residents' rights, or about safety drills, and you get the answers at the back of the paper. I mean, my mind's getting stagnant here." I replied

"Yeah, I know what you mean...", he said. Then, " You do have a bachelor's degree right? Then why don't you find another job?"

"Man, I wish it were that easy. You see, I have a limited or no professional experience at all. I just graduated from college, so I didn't gain the professional experience I needed to apply for jobs here, and besides, unless I took up nursing back home, my education there means nothing here, or if it means any at all, the possibility that employers will be impressed by that degree is nil."

"That sucks man." he said

"Yeah, sucks big time. But you know what, that's why I'm studying again, so I could eventually do something that I really like, something that stimulates the mind, not this job - serving food and washing the dishes..."

"Why don't you take up nursing? They need nurses around here." Er- there goes that question again. I've been asked that question, like, a million times or so.

I wanted to say that it's because I'm a deviant, I take the road less travelled. I do not conform to what most of the society is doing.

I wanted to say I wanted to do something different...

"The pay is good you know. Nurses get as much as $37 an hour. That's a lot.", he goes on.

I wanted to say I really don't care about the money, or how much more I get paid if I become a nurse. I wanted to say I want to do something I know I would really enjoy, and care less about money.

But I didn't say that. Because I am envisioning the future, and knowing me, and how fickle I am, I might just take the road frequently travelled. I might just eat my words, when eventually, this idealist in me fades, and the more practical side of me shows up.

So my answer, " Ask me that question again a year from now, and I might just tell you that I am taking up nursing."