I wasn’t the kind of person to judge the
homeless person on the corner, other religious affiliations, races or cultures.
I was the person who judged the jobless, the people on unemployment. I used to
think people on long-term unemployment or the people who were jobless for more
than six months were lazy. I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t find a job
in six-months and I thought it had to be because they weren’t trying. Why would
“they” work when “they” could get paid to stay home and not work?
It wasn’t until I was forced into that very
situation that I realized how wrong I was. The first unemployment check I
received shocked me into the realization that if I didn’t get a job immediately
or have savings, then I would never survive this unemployment, because my
monthly unemployment benefits were far from enough to pay my bills. I
desperately wanted to find a job, so I knew with 100 percent certainty of my
financial future. If the financial uncertainty of joblessness didn’t push me
toward finding a job, then the treatment I received from the employees at the
unemployment office sure would. The underpaid, overworked employees, who were
used to dealing with the frightened, stressed out jobless completely lacked
empathy. In every interaction, I was treated like an idiot trying to take
advantage of the system. If only they understood, I would have done anything to
not have to be on unemployment. As I sent resume after resume and went on interview
after interview I realized that I am now the person I once judged so harshly.
I’ve learned
a lot since I lost my job, but the lesson I am most proud and most ashamed to
have learned is to never judge. It is so easy to form an opinion about a group,
situation, etc., but until you are standing knee deep in it you have no idea.
Remember to empathize and extend yourself to think beyond the first impression
and judgment.
Don’t judge
and hate. Empathize and love one another, and together we make a better
community.
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