Blue Collar Worker

Sample Literacy Narrative

Note to reader: This draft is re-printed here with the author's permission. These student drafts are provided for a couple of reasons: first, to give you a taste of the variety of topics and approaches students have taken, and second, to provide instructors with readings that might be used in class discussions and activities. These samples are not perfect and represent final grades from across the grade scale (A through F), so please be forgiving, understanding, and respectful if you find errors or problems.

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Preston Nielsen

Professor Peterson

ENGL 1010-50 Literacy Narrative

June 10, 2015

Blue Collar Worker

It is 7:30 in the morning as I’m standing outside the truck with my brother-in-law, Tim, and cousin, Jeff, putting on our snow gear. Not much of it is needed as I look up at the bright white snow covered mountains reflecting the warm sun down on us. The smell of crisp winter snow and the sound of skiers carving on the freshly groomed trails always gives me a sense of nostalgia, especially on the first run of the season. Excited to hit the slopes we take our first run of the day. The powder is so soft it feels like I’m floating on a cloud and if I stopped, I would sink. The weather remains perfect, with cloudless skies as we snowboard through the morning.

It’s 2:38 in the afternoon as we approach the bottom of the lift when Tim asks, “Do you guys want to take a break?” To which I reply, “Are you joking? You really are getting old. I’m just getting started.” Jeff turns and mumbles, “I’ll head to the lodge with Tim.” I leave the old guys at the lodge and get on the lift. Taking the powder covered tree run, my favorite run so far, wasn’t a hard decision to make as I get off the lift. I’m carving through trees at a moderate speed as I approach the best part of my favorite run, the eight foot drop off. Gliding off the crest of the cliff I feel an epic smile on my face. When I land the smile is gone. My legs absorb the landing like usual, buckling my knees towards the ground, but this time was different. My right knee shot down to the ground and bull’s-eye! It found the sharpest rock on the mountain. Pure adrenaline followed by ultimate disappointment. There was no question in my mind after touching my knee from outside my snow pants. Diagnosis? Broken kneecap. I tried standing up once, bad idea, my knee gave out and I fell down on my back.

I always thought the feeling of experiencing a serious injury would be different than it was. As I sat on the mountain, waiting for the unlucky bystander who was now burdened with reporting my situation to the ski patrol, I was disturbingly calm. There was a newfound humbling that hit me almost instantly. It made me immediately feel like an ant in the Grand Canyon, utterly unimportant to the function of the rest of the world. Maybe it was shock. A couple hours later, I snapped out of it, and reality set in. Everything in my life I had placed so much importance on: my career, house, cars, social groups, sports, were meaningless. With only one leg, what was I? A cripple? An invalid? Disabled? Throughout my life, I hadn’t put much thought into these words or considered the possibility of being them.

Good health is not an entitlement. I quickly decided it is taken for granted by most people, including myself. Does it affect everyone the same? No. Sitting at a desk or behind a computer has never appealed to me. So working on a drilling rig where I exercise daily in a mentally and physically fast paced environment, has been a great career, but what happens when a blue collar worker is injured? My life has been turned upside down.

Previous to my injury, every day consisted of exercise in some way. If it wasn’t work, it was some sport or outdoor hobby. Little did I know I would spend months confined to a bed after breaking my kneecap once, and then breaking it again three months later. Thinking I had my whole life planned out, just to start over, made me feel like a rudderless ship. I’ve always been a planner. Looking into the future to solidify comfort and the ability to be independent came naturally to me. I had this quality at a young age which has grown over the years. When I was a young boy, I remember asking my mother if I could do some extra chores to earn a couple of dollars. When she would pay me the couple of dollars I didn’t ride my bike to Mcdonald’s to buy an ice cream cone. I put it in a jar under my bed. When I was 18, I might have looked 3-5 years into the future. By the time I was 25, I had a plan, obviously not concrete, but a general plan for the ages of 40-50 and fail safes in place for a retirement. This made the blow of a broken kneecap that much worse. Having 30 years of my life planned such as, career plans, personal goals, financial goals all set in rapid motion with a well thought out plan mind you, halted.

Equally important aspects were social impacts. Being bedridden eliminated doing any social activity other than casual conversation, usually over the phone. Accepting invitations to play basketball or even golf was not an option. Relationships with family and friends suffered. It also created a burden on the people closest to me because I basically needed a caretaker day and night, which strained those relationships. I could only stare at a wall for so many days without developing anxiety and agitation from my situation. Some thoughts consisted of how things would be different if my job wasn’t dependent on my ability to be on my feet for 12 hours a day.

Our world of urbanization and technology has created an increase in white collar jobs compared to previous decades or centuries. Commoditization has played a role in people having the ability to actually do nothing physically demanding. They only have to drive a vehicle and walk to an office chair only to repeat these steps until the weekend where they could choose to remain mostly inactive. Returning to work would have been possible much sooner had I been working in a white collar position. Fortunately, I am able to pursue other career opportunities; but it is interesting to think about the different limitations physical health has on white collar vs blue collar occupations. If a blue collar worker is hurt or injured, how does this impact their life? All income ceases to exist and, depending on the lifestyle they live, they can have house foreclosures, car repossessions, and if they are lucky, live in mom and dad’s basement until they can get back on their feet.

On the other hand, how does this affect most white collar workers? It is likely less devastating. Their personal life outside of work might be affected, but if their livelihood stays intact, they should be able to sustain and have time to rehabilitate. White collar workers have the ability to take advantage of more dangerous activities like extreme sports with less fear of losing income. This isn’t a matter of lower vs higher income. Take a professional basketball player, for example. He or she might enter the pros only to play for a year or two before ending their career with the occurrence of an injury. The next step for them is easy, right? Just step into the operating room and start performing total hip and knee replacements. Unfortunately, life isn’t quite that easy. That person is then forced to choose another career which is easier said than done due to the knowledge and skillset necessary for a new career.

We all have choices to make, some more important than others. The path we each choose makes us unique. The ironic thing is, a choice we once had can be gone forever in the blink of an eye. We are forced to create new choices for ourselves, either to adapt, or be left in the wake of our misfortune. Returning to college and being in this class is my choice, my path chosen from adverse circumstances in an effort to transition from a blue collar to white collar position. After dedicating years of my life to the drilling side of the oil and gas industry, this is my attempt to convert to the business side and retain the value of my current skills and knowledge. Right decision? Only the future can tell.