Yesterday, I started school again. To ease back in, and since it was pretty last minute, I just signed up for one Photography class that I wanted to take. First off, I showed up at the building, and it is still HEAVILY under-construction. So, all of the classes have been shoved into the basement until they are finished. No real big deal, but... Second, my teacher started off the class by talking about all of the things that could make us want to drop the class, saying things like if you are on a tight budget, this probably isn't the class for you. We need a really nice camera, with all of the manual settings for the shutter speed, light exposure, etc... Then he added in the books that we need, and we HAVE to have them by the next class period. Then he goes off about how hard this class is going to be, and even though it is going to be EXTREMELY expensive, he says that you cant earn an A unless you work really really hard. He says showing up to class every day, putting in the time and money will probably get you a C. You have to go way beyond that to earn anything more. So, he told all of the class that if they need an A, and are tight on money, drop the class now. He also went on to tell us how to properly drop the class. I was really intimidated. I have never really done anything with a camera's shutter speed, etc... He also went on to say that he wants our puctures to be really personal. He said NO SUNSETS NO TEMPLE and NO BABIES. He calls these "safe" photography. I am going to stick with it a little longer and see if I can handle it. I would feel really dumb dropping out of my only class this semester.
Also, when I got home from Logan last night, I checked my MySpace and one of my co-workers told me that she was now the new manager of my Baskin. I started crying. I know it's dumb, since I said no when he first asked me, but that was about a year ago and I have since decided that it might be a good idea. Plus, with him having me talk to that girl, etc... I thought that we were heading in that direction. It felt like a slap in the face to have this other girl tell me that she was now the manager. More than anything, I felt like I was being replaced, and I have worked so hard to make my store run well.
So, this morning, I sent Justin a text saying, "I know this is going to sound dumb, but I am pretty irritated with you right now. You always said that my store didn't need a manager since I was already taking care of nearly everything. Now that you made Sarah the manager, I feel like you are going to be paying her for a job that I already do. Sarah is good, so I will get over it, but I want you to know that I am really hurt that you didn't even talk to me about it."
He called me back a little later and asked me why I was so upset about the whole thing. I told him that I felt like I was being replaced, etc. He told me that he was making Sarah the manager so that the night people that she would be training would actually listen to her. He said that I would be amazed at how much of a difference that title made. He said that I was doing such a great job with cakes, and he knew that I loved it, that it didn't make any sense to have me try and stop that when Sarah hates doing cakes but loves managing. He said that she isn't over me, and she doesn't get to tell me what to do. He said that only he will do that. He said that he wasn't going to be taking anything away from me by making Sarah the manager. He still is going to have me do everything that I have been doing. He says that my store ius busy enough that it basically needs two people, me in the morning and Sarah at night. He is also giving me a dollar raise and said that I can still move up from where I am. I told him that I was worried that people wouldn't listen to me anymore since they will know now that I am not the manager. He said that he wasn't worried about it, and if it became a problem, he would deal with it. All in all, I am feeling better about the whole thing. It sounds like Sarah and I will be running the store together. He said he thinks it will work out really well as long as the two of us don't bump heads, which he doesn't think would happen anyways. Since I trained Sarah, he says that she already respects me and knows how much I do for the store. And since I think she does a good job running things at night, and we are friends, he thinks it will work. I think it will be pretty much the same as how things are now when he puts it like that. I do run things at night, and Sarah and I do get along because of how hard she works at night. She is pretty good. Plus, this way, she will be the one who has to hire and fire people. Justin says that I am already doing so much, that it didn't make any sense to make me do more. He says I am doing a great job and he needs me where I am at. He made sure that I was feeling better about it. He sais that he was glad that I would talk to him about having a problem instead of just being mad at him and not letting him know. He told me to make sure I come to him if there is anything else that I am upset about.
3 comments:
Wow, Chelsee, you are brave to talk to Justin like that. It was good that you talked to him instead of bottling it up, but the phrasing could have been a little better. I am happy for your sake that he took it so well.
About school, I don't think there is any shame in dropping a class if you think it might not work out. Why waste your time? Do you want to worry about spending a lot of extra money on it, and buying a new camera? If so, power to you, but don't be afraid to drop it and take something else you're interested in. I say if you're going to spend the money on college, at least take something you're REALLY interested in.
I'm guessing that you are taking classes at the University of Utah because no one at Weber State would have talked to you like that. At the U they try to weed you out. At Weber they let you grow. That's the difference.
If you are going through with the photography class I have a few documentaries that you might want to see. The first is "Born in the Brothels." about children in India using photography to get out of poverty. The second is called "War Photographer" about the famous photographer James Nachtwey. Both of the movies would give you really good ideas of what subjects to photograph.
I know how hard it is to tell someone that they have hurt your feelings or that you have been treated unfairly. So much of that is personal perception and I never know how close I am to reality. I do believe in communication. It always works better for me than mindreading.
I also applaud you for getting back into school and for going ahead with the class, even though your instructor tried to intimidate you. You are a smart girl and a hard worker and I know you can do it.
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