Deedra Hancammon, GPC Student
A
typical day for me used to begin with the alarm clock buzzing obnoxiously
around 7:15 am. Regretfully, I’d pull myself
out of bed after a few rounds with the snooze button and slowly get dressed for
the office. Armed with my mocha, I’d
bolt out the door and race up GA 400 to my cubicle at a law firm. By the time I’d get home from the hellacious
workday, I had no mental energy to decide what to have for dinner, much less
the physical energy to actually cook it.
My weekends were consumed by all the mundane tasks of every household;
laundry, bills, errands, there just weren’t enough hours in the day. One Saturday afternoon I was particularly
annoyed by a regularly scheduled trip to Kroger, and while I begrudgingly
walked up and down every isle, it suddenly hit me. I was neglecting my family, and all thanks to society.
Society
teaches us to be successful in everything we attempt. We must be successful in our jobs, striving to climb the
corporate ladder, which often requires long work hours that keep us away from
home. For example, in my early 20’s, I
was fascinated by real estate. I
studied to be a realtor, I worked for a real estate developer, and I ate, slept
and breathed real estate. It wasn’t
uncommon for me to work 12 hour days as well as weekends. In fact, on the first day of my honeymoon I
was on a 3 hour conference call regarding a deal that had gone awry. My new husband was less than thrilled by the
interference.
In
an effort to achieve success, society promotes competition; which makes us
perceive people as obstacles, as opposed to allies. I remember when my husband and I tried our hands at running a computer
consulting business. At first,
everything ran smoothly; he would bring in the clients and I would play
secretary. Then I begun to hone my web
developing skills and was attracting my own clientele. Instantly, my husband’s success was
threatened, and even though we were on the same team, he tried to undermine my
efforts.
Society
also teaches independence, which, in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. However, being self-sufficient often goes
with being selfish. I moved out of my
mother’s house when I was 19. I got a
job and my own apartment and I didn’t need anyone’s help. I worked hard, played hard, and answered to
no one. Then I met my husband and all
hell broke loose. I had been
independent for so long that I didn’t realize what an inconsiderate little twit
I was; coming and going when I pleased without so much as a note, working until
the wee hours without so much as a phone call, taking impromptu road trips with
girlfriends with no notice, etc. I had
to re-learn interpersonal communication, which put a great deal of strain on
our relationship.
So,
I finished my grocery shopping that Saturday afternoon and went about the rest
of my weekend chores. I got up on
Monday morning after a few bouts with the snooze button, as usual; however, instead
of getting in the shower, I put on my nice, fluffy bathrobe and headed upstairs
to start coffee. I called my office,
and as I suspected, the office manager was already there, and had been for
quite sometime. I told her that I
wouldn’t be coming in and when she asked if I was ill, I replied “No, I
quit. And now I’m going to go make
breakfast and pack lunches for my family.”