THE STREET GRADUATES

Enough!! What's all these?

He sits up on his bed; looking through the windows he can see the 'sun has risen' to a certain height from the East. Everything is clearly visible; the trees, the land animals searching for their daily bread, pupils being led to their schools by their mothers, the chirping birds and their nest-making. But more visible to him is the fact that he is still unemployed. Days have become weeks, weeks gone to months and months threatening to become years.

Of course, he didn't bargain for this. He definitely graduated with good grades. One or two extra years maybe, but he graduated. That's resiliency. He has done his part. CV's submitted; electronically, manually. Have even gone for some tests but never saw the outcome. He's becoming a burden and soon an object of caricature.

Enough!!! He jumped out of the bed with a mind made up. And HE HIT THE STREET.

That was like preferring boiling oil to boiling water. The street is cold, and then it is hot. It then gets hotter and suddenly colder. It has no defined weather. Invariably, the street guy must be 'all-weather' lest he dies of cold or heat as the case may be. 

Wandering the streets can be so humiliating especially for a young graduate filled with the 'sweet fantasies' of the corporate world. He dreamt of working in giant corporations, dressed in suit and taking lift to floor no 57. And here he is walking between giant corporation, dressed in tatters and lifted off the ground only by his worn-out sandals. 

No assurance of half loaf. Asking for daily bread therefore seems far-fetched. No assurance of a roof for shelter, a bed for the night, a good drinking water to calm his nerves. No basic salary to hope on at the end of the month. He's in for a life of struggle.

But he was determined. Hustling, hassling. He mingled with all-Tom, Dick and Harry. He did all and earned a little. On occasions, he 'camelled' home from work, on some, he hung at the back of moving buses. And his corporate colleagues went home either with company buses or with company cars.

Every day he wakes up not knowing where his help will come from, and his corporate colleagues do know that there help will come from their salaries which come at the end of the month. The life of a hustler.

Then suddenly he got his pay day. All the works of the previous months begins to pay off. The hustling have got him business connections. The dots have been connected. He's in. 

His friends say TGIF (Thank God It's Friday). He says TGIF (Thank God It's Free-days). They have Monday blues, he plays blues on Monday mornings. They still go to work in option of company cars or buses, he cruises to his office in his padded cars (full option). He still goes between giant corporations dressed in jean trousers and polo. But when he walks into any of these corporations, he needs no introduction.

He failed at becoming an employee. But succeeded in becoming an employer, an entrepreneur, a motivator, an inspiration.

The street world builds the corporate world

Go start something!!!!(28)

photo credit: www.ownthedollar.com