Chrissy is a woman in her late forties who works full time as a bus monitor. She is one of the few people in her family to ever have a job, let alone have one for 15 straight years. As she enters the bus, a smile slowly forms. Chrissy takes her seat among her new found friends and begins to unwind. The window that she provides into a world that most people outside of urban settings are unfamiliar with- is truly enlightening. Her children's father is MIA. Her two sisters, mother, and her brother's ex-wife (as well as her children) rely on her income. After doing the math, it seems she supports eight people off of her job that pays barely over minimum wage after 15 years.
There is much to be learned from Chrissy. She certainly has been on the bottom end of a broken system and suffers from multiple forms of oppression. Chrissy, however, offers a genuine smile to those around her every single day. Her attitude, patience, and ability to live in the present enable her to be a shining light in many of our lives. Making ends meet every week is a nightmare. There is a genuine lack of opportunity and a severe lack of options.
It is hard for me and my fellow employees to imagine a life without her stories and without her humor. Intentionally placing ourselves into situations to meet people like Chrissy certainly enables us to experience a "richer" life. The richest moments in life, it seems, come from relationships. Yet another reminder of what really matters.
What can we learn from this? How can we harness our creativity and our communities to offer another way? How do we address systemic oppression? All of these questions roll through my brain as I offer a sincere smile back to my co-workers and our new friend, Chrissy.
No comments:
Post a Comment