The Ugly Side to Hustling
Earlier today, I decided to follow a friend in his vehicle and just experience life from his point of view. This person happens to be a commercial bus driver, and when I told him about my idea to spend the day with him, I was honestly surprised when he agreed.
But yeah, having to do that is something I'm glad I did because it made me realize that in order to hustle hard, you have to put yourself in a situation where you can get to lie flawlessly and also be ever ready for any kind of trouble that may come your way, especially when you work as a commercial bus driver.
Before we began our business for the day, I remember asking the driver why he had dreads on his head, and he mentioned to me that he's actually not a fan of having dreads, but due to the nature of the work that he does, he has to look as rough and tough as possible in order to deter people on the road from trying to mess with him.
I understood what he meant, but I got an even better understanding when we got to a particular bus stop and this woman who got down from the bus had refused to pay the amount that the driver was asking for. That was when I saw it; that was when I saw him switch from the guy who was just laughing with me about two seconds ago to the guy who now was ready to fight to make sure he got paid.
It was scary.
It showed how a job like that could easily change you. And the sad thing about this is that people learn fast. So if you happen to be a gentle, innocent soul who's not used to a lifestyle like that, you could end up changing into something you can't even recognize after a while, because now you would be tired of people taking advantage of your kindness.
Today's journey was a very educational one. And inasmuch as I hate violence, one thing I took from everything I saw today was that people should have two sides, and it's very necessary.
A side of them that's calm, loving, and probably innocent... Then there's another side of them that can completely be the total opposite of all that in a split second. Because when you live in a world that we live in today, where everyone is out there looking for new ways to exploit you, it is left to you to be able to defend and protect yourself when you notice that happening.
And sometimes, you need to be able to do that in a snap of your fingers.