Vulnerability: We Don’t Know the Half of It

July 25, 2014 — Day Two

When’s the last time you’ve been vulnerable in public? It’s a scary and unsettling feeling, and I’ll get to that point in a second, but…

First things first — a grand total of $2.32 was spent today! Leaving my budget at $51.48 for the next 5 days. I had a short time crunch for lunch, so a quick run to McDonald’s and its dollar menu meant a McChicken and small fries. Don’t judge — you know you like those skinny fries! Luckily, I had a water bottle, so didn’t have to get a drink.

If I had some leeway, I would’ve preferred to go to Panera or a healthier alternative, but budget-consciousness and time crunch meant Mickey D’s was the best I could do at the time.

Driving around today gave me some time to think though. And I got to thinking about how we really don’t know, 100% certain, whether raising the minimum wage will have the effects that studies say it will, benefiting up to 28 million workers, many of them women. So then why act?

I was in a meeting earlier, and was asked a question that I didn't know how to answer. So I was struggling through the thought process, gingerly stepping in the dark, bumping into sharp furniture, and feeling out the walls to make my way. I was feeling a little stupid, and more vulnerable than I’ve remembered ever being in public recently. And it would have been so easy to just avoid it all. The older we get, the easier it gets to act like we have all the answers. Because people don’t want to hear that you don’t know something; they want to hear that you have the solution.

And that made me think, maybe we’re not being vulnerable enough when we approach our societal issues. Being vulnerable — really vulnerable — means two things: 1) knowing that you don’t know the answer, and 2) being unafraid to start a public conversation on that basis. In the meeting, I got some help along the way from others, and finally reached a ‘somewhat answer.’ It was a ‘somewhat answer’ because it wasn’t the “perfect answer.” But I think a ‘somewhat answer’ is better than a ‘I have no idea where to start’ answer.

So raising the minimum wage is a ‘somewhat answer.’ But it’s better than the ‘no answer’ we have now to economic inequality. And I hope will lead to a ‘better answer,’ if not the “perfect answer.” So even if I will never be able to understand all the hardships of being on a minimum wage — going through the process together I hope we can become better citizens for it.

Now it’s time to eat my kimchi fried rice. Living on minimum wage doesn’t mean you can’t find the joy in the small things. Like never-ending kimchi. Now that, I’m thankful for.