When I was in middle school, being strong to me meant having muscles. In high school, it meant having great comebacks for insults backed up by muscle. In both areas, I was never really top-notch. However, my definition of strong has changed especially after working at the gas station. I now believe it means having the moral fiber to stand up for what you believe in and fighting for it even if you are knocked down. In this post, I’d like to explore what I feel real strength is.
First, I would like to paint a picture of where I work at. Though I always knew the neighborhoods around the gas station would not be good to frequent after dark, I didn’t realize the extent of influence the “streets” had on the neighborhood convenience stores until recently. Sure, I knew that little bags of cocaine can sometimes be found in the parking lot, used tampons were often smeared across the bathroom walls, and that theft was a huge problem, but I never knew that coke addicts sometimes shot up in our bathroom or the real risks that a man working the night shift by himself takes. At the same time, many of these people who come into the store have had to fight for everything they have. Many of them come from poor households broken by drugs, alcohol, and violence but they still try to enjoy themselves – sometimes to the extent of breaking the law.
In part to this, I feel that I am always being tested by customers to see what they can get away with. This ranges from stealing beer to lying about how much money they gave me for a transaction to even cursing me out to see what I will stand for. On the bright side, my experiences at the gas station have opened my eyes to a different world and a new definition of strength. I believe that hardships and adversity in life show our true strengths and weaknesses. This is when we are stripped naked of everything else except the strength in our hearts, which can be showed by our will, our integrity, and our intelligence. Working at the gas station has made me more astute in knowing what to believe, it has made me more resolute in my beliefs, it has raised my moral standards, it has made me more compassionate, and has improved my decision-making ability and speed under pressure.
Although I feel like I am on my way to becoming stronger, there is one man who I believes epitomizes real strength. Though he works 16-17 hour days everyday during the night shift alone at the gas station and is in his 60s, he never complains and is always ready with a smile. When customers try to intimidate him with their size or violent language, he stands strong for what he believes in and doesn’t let anybody push him around when he knows he is right and fair. For those who don’t have money to put food on the table, he lets them borrow some with the mindset that he probably will never see the money again. Yet he usually does as he is a great judge of character. He doesn’t take advantage and refuses to let others take advantage of him. His willingness to sacrifice himself so his wife and son can work less is more than inspiring. His wisdom of letting the small things go and his tireless work ethic embodies the heart of the gas station. Though I have less time than ever to spend time with my dad, the gas station has revealed to me what I would never have known. Though we are the same height, I see him as a giant. I am proud to be his son and I hope that one day, his strength will become mine.
