我眼中的美国 

Aanika I.，27岁

大学学生服务专业人员

加利福尼亚州圣迭戈

上个月，我收到了来自人生中第一份“大孩子工作”的第一张薪水支票。这张支票让我觉得很郁闷。我想知道，单凭这点儿钱我怎么能度过这个月剩下的日子。

我一直在脑海中想象领薪水的这一刻会是一个欢乐的时刻，我会为我心爱的人买些小礼物。与此相反，我是用大哭的表情符号发信息告诉我的亲友，我所选择的职业明显是给有钱人准备的，而不是给身负巨额助学贷款的年轻专业人士准备的。

就在那天即将结束时，我最意想不到的一个人让我醒悟了过来。

在一天结束时，看管人会来到我的办公室，我看到他时总要跟他打声招呼。但是那天，他询问了我的姓名，我这才意识到还从未向他作过自我介绍。他说他见到我很高兴。我们就这样聊了起来，我对他也有了一些了解。

他在印第安纳州长大，在家中的6个孩子里排行居中。他的妈妈是一名家庭主妇，负责照顾6个子女，他的爸爸则是开出租车养家。有一次，他的爸爸甚至还见到了Michael Jackson！

他有两个已经成年的孩子，他第一次结婚还是在海军服役时。他还去过日本、泰国、斯里兰卡、澳大利亚、肯尼亚和菲律宾。

我们天南地北地聊了很多话题。有时，他的谦逊和率直让我感到震惊；有时，他又让我笑出了声。最令我惊讶的是，他说：“我61岁了，而且几乎是法定盲人。如果我没有和你聊过天，也没跟你握过手，我可能就不会记得你是谁。”

他还谈到了加利福尼亚州居高不下的房租，我于是就把自己当天早些时候的沮丧心情告诉了他。他告诉我一切都会好起来，而我也会没事的。别担心。去一元店买买东西。自己动手制作三明治，喝喝绿茶。下个月我们都将涨薪50美元（我俩全都笑了，虽然知道这点钱不算多，但我们还是欣然接受），而我只需要渡过难关。他提到，有一次他领了薪水支票后，只有100美元来过完当月剩下的日子。可他现在依然活得好好的。

他临走前微笑着对我说：“欢迎来到加利福尼亚州。你会好起来的！ ”

所以……我正在尽自己最大的努力保持更良好的心态。我从他身上有很多东西要学，而且我非常感谢他把我从自怨自艾中拉出来。我还要感谢他让我从不同的角度看待我的生活，让我相信我也能靠自己的力量生存下去。

America Through My Eyes

Aanika I., 27

University Student Services Professional 

San Diego, California 

Last month, I received my first paycheck from my first “big kid job” of my life. It was depressing. I wondered how I was supposed to live for the rest of the month on that amount. 

In my head, I had always imagined this moment would be a joyous occasion, where I would buy little gifts for my loved ones. Instead I went around using the wailing emoji while messaging my friends and family to say that my chosen profession was clearly for rich people and not for young professionals with enormous student loans. 

Then at the end of the day, I received a wake-up call from the most unexpected individual.

I had always said hello when I saw the custodian who came to my office at the end of the day. But that day he asked me my name and I realized I had never introduced myself before. He said it was a pleasure meeting me. We got to talking and I learned a little about him. 

He grew up in Indiana, a middle child among six kids. His mom was a homemaker taking care of six children while his dad drove taxis for a living. His dad even met Michael Jackson once! 

He has two adult children and got married for the first time when he was serving in the Navy. He has also been to Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Kenya, and the Philippines. 

We jumped topics and discussed various things. At times he shocked me with his humbleness and bluntness, while at other times he made me burst out laughing. The most surprising thing he said was, “I'm 61 years old and almost legally blind. If I hadn't talked to you and shaken your hand, I may not have remembered who you were.”

He also discussed housing rents being high in California so I told him how depressed I had felt earlier that day. He told me that things will be okay and I'll make it. To not worry. To shop at the dollar store. To make myself sandwiches and drink green tea. That we are all getting a $50 raise next month (we both laughed knowing it's not much but we will take it) and I just have to weather the storm. He mentioned that one time he got a paycheck and he only had $100 to live on for the rest of the month. But he is alive now. 

He left with a smile telling me, “Welcome to California. You're going to make it!  ”

So...I'm trying my best to have a better attitude. I have so much to learn from him and can't thank him enough for throwing me out of my own pity party. For making me look at my life from a different perspective and making me believe I could possibly be capable of surviving on my own. 

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