My summer
This summer, while most Political Science majors are riding a desk for an internship for some major law firm, or maybe even for some state government official, I've taken a slightly different route: I'm working at a factory. While my job is extremely repetitive and monotonous, it has taught me several lessons that an internship never possibly could.
1.) A Culture of Safety Glasses: My job requires me to wear safety glasses while I'm operating my press. For the most part, the job is completely safe, and even if something were to go wrong, your eyes would probably the least of your worries. The machinery I operate has the ability to crush my head like a melon...even though I'd have to be extremely flexible and fast for this to happen. My first couple nights on the job, I thought that my safety glasses were completely pointless. I would grumble about them as I'd be walking out of the house with my glasses riding on the bill of my hat. After a couple weeks on the job, I almost forgot about them. It was like they were a part of me - if it was dark and I was leaving the house, it went without saying that my safety glasses would be with me. One morning when I got back from the shop, my grandma told me that my mom needed me to go drop off something for her at the school she works at. As I walked out of the house, I caught myself reaching up on my hat and lowering my safety glasses - something I do several time throughout the night as I'm going to and from the factory floor. Of course, safety glasses aren't completely worthless. One night while I was loading a pile of plastic scrap into a grinding machine, the machine shot a piece of plastic out at me - luckily, my constant companion protected me from what would have been a very un-cool injury.
2.) Have a Piece of Humble Pie: As a college student working in a factory, it's easy to go in feeling a little superior and cocky...you get over that pretty quick. Most people in a factory don't give a damn that you go to college - sure, you can discuss Aristotle and Socrates at great length, but how do you do when you have to make a pair of accelerator pedals in under a minute, trim them, then package them? Oh, you took a class about water and the environment? Don, let's get the professor a mop! Ah, you're in a college marching band? Rex, let's put the maestro on gears! On the factory floor, you see how trivial a lot of the crap you learn in lecture halls is. Sure, the affects of phosphates on water is interesting, but how does it help you make vent covers for a Ford Focus? Yeah, I think the middle ages were pretty cool times, but knowing about the inquisition doesn't really do me any good when I'm trimming extra plastic off of an accelerator pedal.
3.) No Matter How Much You Hate Life, Someone at Work Hates it More: When you are used to living in a place like East Lansing, Sturgis seems more than a little dull. One night on my way to work, I was pouting to myself about how bored I am here at home and how much I miss my girlfriend. When I got to work, I met up with my friend Ian in the break room. He's about my age - he's usually pissed about something, but it's usually entertaining. I asked him how he was and he told me not good. "I KNOW HOW THAT GOES!" I said. "No, I don't think you have any idea, dude..." he replied. I found out that when he got home from work earlier in the day, Ian kissed his wife goodnight and told her he loved her. When he woke up, his wife had left - taking his money and his truck, but leaving a note that she no longer wanted to be married to him. About that time, I decided that missing my life at school didn't seem as much of a big deal in comparison. I'm still miserable sometimes, but I only need to go to work to realize that everyone else is too.
1.) A Culture of Safety Glasses: My job requires me to wear safety glasses while I'm operating my press. For the most part, the job is completely safe, and even if something were to go wrong, your eyes would probably the least of your worries. The machinery I operate has the ability to crush my head like a melon...even though I'd have to be extremely flexible and fast for this to happen. My first couple nights on the job, I thought that my safety glasses were completely pointless. I would grumble about them as I'd be walking out of the house with my glasses riding on the bill of my hat. After a couple weeks on the job, I almost forgot about them. It was like they were a part of me - if it was dark and I was leaving the house, it went without saying that my safety glasses would be with me. One morning when I got back from the shop, my grandma told me that my mom needed me to go drop off something for her at the school she works at. As I walked out of the house, I caught myself reaching up on my hat and lowering my safety glasses - something I do several time throughout the night as I'm going to and from the factory floor. Of course, safety glasses aren't completely worthless. One night while I was loading a pile of plastic scrap into a grinding machine, the machine shot a piece of plastic out at me - luckily, my constant companion protected me from what would have been a very un-cool injury.
2.) Have a Piece of Humble Pie: As a college student working in a factory, it's easy to go in feeling a little superior and cocky...you get over that pretty quick. Most people in a factory don't give a damn that you go to college - sure, you can discuss Aristotle and Socrates at great length, but how do you do when you have to make a pair of accelerator pedals in under a minute, trim them, then package them? Oh, you took a class about water and the environment? Don, let's get the professor a mop! Ah, you're in a college marching band? Rex, let's put the maestro on gears! On the factory floor, you see how trivial a lot of the crap you learn in lecture halls is. Sure, the affects of phosphates on water is interesting, but how does it help you make vent covers for a Ford Focus? Yeah, I think the middle ages were pretty cool times, but knowing about the inquisition doesn't really do me any good when I'm trimming extra plastic off of an accelerator pedal.
3.) No Matter How Much You Hate Life, Someone at Work Hates it More: When you are used to living in a place like East Lansing, Sturgis seems more than a little dull. One night on my way to work, I was pouting to myself about how bored I am here at home and how much I miss my girlfriend. When I got to work, I met up with my friend Ian in the break room. He's about my age - he's usually pissed about something, but it's usually entertaining. I asked him how he was and he told me not good. "I KNOW HOW THAT GOES!" I said. "No, I don't think you have any idea, dude..." he replied. I found out that when he got home from work earlier in the day, Ian kissed his wife goodnight and told her he loved her. When he woke up, his wife had left - taking his money and his truck, but leaving a note that she no longer wanted to be married to him. About that time, I decided that missing my life at school didn't seem as much of a big deal in comparison. I'm still miserable sometimes, but I only need to go to work to realize that everyone else is too.