Working for the Diploma.

What's more maddening than being stuck in the metro the morning of a test or a project deadline. Well, last semester, I didn't just want to have good grades: I wanted straight A's. My strategy for achieving this feat was to put aside my usual lack of motivation and be willing to work hard for once. The first weeks started greatly. I thoroughly completed my exercises and my results reflected this method's efficiency. The only problem though was the lack of sleep. My thoughtful mannerism brought me to a situation in which I needed to study hard and sleep a stupidly low percentage of my nights. Getting closer to the end of the semester, I started to notice my answers in tests were more cursory than a couple of weeks earlier. This is the problem with this method of time management. Lack of sleep equals a lack concentration. One evening during the dreaded week of the final exams, my professor suggested we read a text which would prepare us for her last task. I went home, motivated to pull off this final effort of attention. Everything after this is a blur in my mind. I remember waking up, taking my cellphone and noticing the time. It was 7:45 A.m. and I usually need to leave an hour earlier than this. I literally ran to my local metro station. The effect of the next thing I would see there was like a cold shower. Half of the deck was full of people, all angry as me for missing their last test.Write this part of the story here and present your reader with choices.

Choice 1 : Give up under the pressure and choose to work instead.

Choice 2 : Work hard and push through to get your diploma

High School Level Job.

When employed at a high school level job there's a strong possibility of the need to go through OJT - or on-the-job-training. I went also through this painful process. I rapidly found a student level job in a factory in a city neighbor to mine. I was concerned a bit about this work environment but the wage was excellent, so I took it. Quickly my new supervisor decided to pair me up with a more experienced colleague who would be able to teach me the ins-and-outs of the job. I was now officially the trainee to this improvised trainer. After a day or two it became clear to me that this "teacher" had a bias. He hated the tasks, the shop and the other employees. This was a big drawback in my training. I was now caught in this persistent bubble of negative energy. When I was eventually judged capable of working by myself it was an enormous relief to me and more specifically my mental health.

Choice 1 : Stick with the Job

Choice 2 : Find another similar job.

The Internship.

In order to complete my college program - Paralegal Technology -, I need to apply for an internship. Luckily, law is a very diverse field and on-the-job-training specific to each category of legal practice will help me to acclimate to this new experience. Being the most interested in criminal law, I will seek to be an intern in this field and put my foot in the door for my future career. Anyway, even if I want to change the type of practice I want to work for later, the experience in a law firm could always come in handy. But my real goal is to really learn the ropes of my chosen field and become every day a little more of an expert paralegal in criminal law.

Choice 1 : Realising that being a paralegal is not for you.

Choice 2 : Undergo a lifelong career in your chosen field

Office Politics.

When I get a new job, I usually don't interfere in office politics. Hindering a coworker is an idea that would never cross my mind, and it never has. If I ever withheld information, it was to my mistake and I surely would have apologized swiftly. In my opinion, getting sucked up in this game is to the detriment of my workforce. Playing this part would clearly undermine my efficiency. More often than not you find these employees who deal in these matters not to be very good at their job, but rather exploiting their influence on others to gain this amount of reputation.

Choice 1 : Stick with the job despite the annoying office politics

Choice 2 : Try to find a new job

Change of Career.

Nobody should have a story to tell about sexual harassment, since every form of it is a particularly despicable crime. But I have one. I was coming in to work as always. There was nothing abnormal about that day. I work as a receptionist for a paper company, so most days are pretty calm and even boring sometimes. I am used to my boss flirting with me, but this was not the same. He transformed from manager to perpetrator. He started to tell inappropriate sexual jokes about me in front of all of my colleagues. I tried to deter him, but nothing would stop the train of puns and other disgusting comedic sentences from his mouth. I filed a very long complain to my human resources employee.

Choice 1 : Choosing to find another job with better conditions

Choice 2 : Endure this painful environment

The Grocery Store.

Sadly, I have a personal story to tell about corruption. I once was part of an institution in which people were corrupt. This way of acting within their organisation was ingrained within them. I worked for a grocery store which was owned by the mob. The store owner reserved the best spots for products in function of bribes. The bigger the bribe, the best exposure the person would get. In my eyes, these people were guilty of the worst kind of theft. Finally, the SQ looked a little bit closer to their assets and found the amount to be quite suspicious. Threats were made but the mob eventually had to close shop.

Write a choice here.

Underqualified.

I once was in conflict with a colleague of mine and I had to use the help of the HR department. Turns out that the mandatory background check had not been made at the hiring period and this employee was incredibly under qualified for the job. He was fired and the people at HR had to give him a severance package. I then took a leave of absence because I was very disappointed of the company's abilities. This event undermined my motivation to work for its interests. Therefore, it also undermined my efficiency and I decided to quit. My position became vacant and I was soon replaced.

Write a choice here.

Retirement.

As a paralegal, I always feel the drive of work, even at home. I sometimes work late and I'm no stranger to overtime. Combine this stress with the anxiety that comes with other responsibilities, such as mortgage payments and the money I try to set aside for the future, it equals to a big weight on my shoulder. I'm longing to get my pension and no longer have to work when I am retired. The passion that comes with my work I will surely miss in the process though! Nevertheless, retirement will be peaceful, and that is always something to look forward to!

Write a choice here.

Feeling alienated.

My interest with the job was strictly monetary, and my lack of motivation was obvious. I never offered to work overtime and did my tasks silently. I did not feel any sense of fulfillment. I did not feel that my time and energy spent there had been worthwhile. To sum it up, I discovered with dread what alienation meant. The feeling of receiving no contentment, no accomplishment from work. For a whole summer I felt powerless, useless. My colleagues were so far away from my values, I made no new friend at work. At the end of the season, I quit this organization, and I don't plan to go back.

Write a choice here.

The end.

Sadly, you can't find a new job. The market is unstable for someone without a degree.

Write a choice here.

The end.

These conditions are intolerable. This is not a life you want to lead.

Write a choice here.