We all know the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, the same can be said for someone’s career. I say this because it happens. I saw a Tik Tok recently where this woman (who is an LVN licensed vocational nurse, also known as an LPN) tried to get a special discount at a store. But because it was for RNs and firefighters, the management of the store said they wouldn’t accept her credentials and license. Eventually, they gave her the discount but just this once.
While watching, I couldn’t help but sympathize with this woman because I related to her. When I started my writing career in 2015 and came out with my self-published book shortly after, I would tell people I wrote a book, and I would be excited. When I was asked how I got it published, I explained that it was self-published, and the response was not what I was looking for. I would simply hear, “ Oh, that’s great Larissa. Congratulations.”
This response made me feel less of a writer than I actually was.
To me, the response that I received sounded more like, “Oh interesting.” They thought that I was going to get a publicist or be published on a popular website. When I was officially published on a well-known website that was when it felt like I officially “made it.” This was because I was a real published writer when in reality I was before that. But because people didn’t see that as being a real writer, I didn’t see it myself.
Sure, maybe I didn’t go the traditional route, but that’s OK. I know that I was a “real” writer and no one can change that.
It seems like in our society, we don’t see the value in someone’s profession unless they have a degree in it. It doesn’t matter how someone got to their career, what matters is that they have skills and talents for it.
In today’s world, we need to respect each other and their experiences. It doesn’t matter how they got to this point in their career, what matters is that they got there. And they’re successful. And that they could help society as a whole because of their skills, talents, and experiences.
We all need to keep that in mind before judging someone for their career choices not being legitimate enough in their opinions. If we keep this mindset, then maybe we wouldn’t be so quick to judge someone over their career. Whatever your field level of expertise or job is, know that what you’re doing matters, and it is very real. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
