Working in America

Working in corporate America left me just a tad bit disillusioned. Don’t get me wrong O, the pay was great. I was making twice what I needed to be comfortable. In other words, after I paid tithe, rent, car loan, electricity, heat, phone and internet bill, fed the household and put 10% of my salary in my savings account, I still had half of my salary to play with. But its called disposable income for a reason —something always disposes you of your money. It could be something as minor as Sunday lunch at a Thai restaurant or the last $5 Tee in your size at Gap. On the other hand, it could be something major like a car breakdown, a trip to California or a friend in dire need.

The pay was great but my bubble burst when I realized that money comes, money goes, and all this while I was living someone else’s dream. I was dancing to the tune of expectations and assumptions and did not stop to check if the shoe fits. I didn't stop to see if it was to my taste, my style and true to my person. I just wanted it because it was the fad. It was practical and it was comfortable. But it was not me.

Comments

  1. Glad for you that you found it was not you......hope u find what you want/need.............

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually,most of the people that came back from America have always told the stories of how they lived pay check-to-pay check.
    They made the money but it all goes to pay their bills.

    ReplyDelete
  3. so true, i think the best way to deal with it is to put an extra 10/20% into the nigeria stock exchange or into a project in naija, that way you have something to focus on.

    but if the job doesn't fit it just won't do

    ReplyDelete
  4. It gets to a point when a lot of us in the US examine our lives introspectively like you did, but most of us can not learn a new dance so we continue to dance " to the tune and expectations" of others.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ibiluv: A big AMEN. thanks!
    @nigeriansummit: yes American is the land of bills, bills, bills. it takes discipline to save
    @dami,yes,investment, savings is important but very difficult if one's pay isn't high
    @bayo,so true, so true. God help us.

    ReplyDelete
  6. so what really happened? why did you quit on the american dream?

    ReplyDelete
  7. @anyaposh, very good question. I never fully signed up for the american dream...I'll post more on this though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. nneoma, I'm still trying to figure that out, will keep y'all posted!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts