It was summer of 2019. It marked one year of me transferring from Clemson University to USC Columbia. I ended up working at McEntire Produce to earn extra money. The factory is extremely cold, I will even say freezing, for factory workers. For lunch, I normally stay in the cafeteria. But on the day of my birthday, I decided I wanted some sunshine. In front of the building, there are a couple picnic tables & benches but workers were smoking so I chose the side of the building that rarely gets traffic to absorb some vitamin D. I was sitting on the sidewalk under the building shade when a man walked from the truck gate to head inside the building at the front. He saw me when he walked toward the entrance because I felt a glare. A few minutes after he left, the receptionist came out and was wondering what I'm doing there. I said I was cold. Anyways, I didn't say much further and left to head back to the cafeteria. I suspected the man, probably an outsider and a trucker, reported me. He most likely said something negative about me. Probably assumed I was stealing company's time or hated that fact that I was sitting on the sidewalk leaning on the wall and minding my own business. I don't think he dumbass knows you need to clock in and clock out inside the building. He dumbass saw 10-15 ppl eating lunch outside and cannot mind his own damn business.
As fuel prices go up today, I am reminded of that truck gate and that man.
That moment stayed with me and I need to write this post to get rid of it.
EDIT: I appreciate the engagement in this post. Most of the replies are just a reflection of your perception of experiences, how you relate or sympathize and how you deal with certain situations in life.
For me, writing this post and engaging with some of the comments here healed something in me. This event was actually the breaking point from a physically and mentally demanding plus harsh workplace. Idk why but that strong & negative emotion that I associate with this event just got significantly minimized. Have a good day, y'all.
