A young man finished the first pay period at his first real job and received a paycheck. This was more than he had ever earned in one week’s time and yet, years later the amount he earned would seem insignificant to him. However, this was his first real paycheck. He unfolded the paper to see the itemized damages as far as taxes were concerned. At the bottom of the tally was his weekly take-home pay. He was on his way . . . 

I was a young man sitting in the back of a church basement. There were people in the room who were smiling and happy. There were signs on the wall with little catchy slogans. One of which said, “Think, Think, Think” and opposite of this sign was another that read, “Don’t Think, Don’t Drink, Go To Meetings.” A few people walked over to say hello and introduce themselves. They told me their name and asked mine. I was reserved though. I was unsure why I was here. My suspicions led me to believe this was more like a cult and less than a self-help model.

Before we go forward, perhaps it would be best to narrate this from the perspective of a young mindset. Think back to the age of childhood. To remove any confusion and to be clear, this narration has nothing to do with skin color or race. Instead, this is a simple thought to explain the variation in the spectrum of color. However, the intention of this text is to encourage thought and promote tolerance and therefore, create a better level of interpersonal understanding. Hopefully, we can come to an understanding that we all see things differently. 

It was a strange time in New York City. The busy avenues and streets were quiet during the usual midday rush. No one was around. The sidewalks were empty of pedestrians and everyone was quarantined in their homes, glued to their televisions to hear the news and updates. Businesses were shut down. Stores were closed and the office buildings in Manhattan were empty. All that was around were the essential workers. Meanwhile, the media reported the daily numbers and reports about the pandemic. People were panicking and there were restrictions on when to go to the supermarket, which aisle to walk down and where to stand while waiting at the register. This was the year 2020. All of the world was brought to a standstill.  

There was a person who told me, “Man is only as strong as his weakest link.” The reason I was offered this opinion is something for another time. However, where I am now and who I am as opposed to the person I was before is different. My eagerness to become strong is based from a different intention. Then again, I used to view strength very differently. I used to think strength was the person who walked into a gym and racked the machines or bench-pressed more than anyone else. I used to think strength was as simple as the weight a person could carry, which it is. Strength is the amount of weight a person can carry. 

I am a member of this machine that we call the working world. Of course, I am far from alone in this machine. None of us are. We work alongside millions of others and together, we are all the integral moving parts of an economic system that helps make the world go around. In fact, everyone is a part of this system, including the unemployed because somehow, the world has to function. Trains have to move. Planes have to fly. People need to eat and of course, investors have to be happy.

The truth is everything costs money. Food certainly costs money. Gas costs money. As it is, prices are going up across the board, yet we are finding ourselves at the corner of a new financial turn. We can’t go on like this forever. Remote learning cannot continue to damage the socialization of young students whose early interactions are necessary for their social education.

There was a professional coach I met who admittedly, was older and more experienced. He had more formal training and a higher level of education than myself. Our backgrounds were different and so was our experience. He was a big finance guy and I had been working in the blue collar section for a long time.

Our lives were different in more ways than one. We were generationally different. We were economically different. However, the one similarity that brought us together was that we both wanted to improve ourselves on both a personal and professional level.