No one has ever belittled me in the past so it’s not as though I’ve been ridiculed, but I recall years back when I had just immigrated to Canada and had started out as a grocery clerk/stock guy at the grocery chain I manage at now. It was my wife’s convocation (CPA) in a very upscale gala sort of environment. We were seated at a large round table with several newly designated accountants and several distinguished CAs, CPAs and other professionals.

Naturally at some point I was asked what I do, and I had to state in front of everyone that I was a stocker at a grocery store. Nobody laughed or anything like that, but there was that awkward kind of pause where the table recognized that I was not accomplished. I remember feeling more humiliated in that moment than I probably should have. It was a blow to my self-esteem, and not the only time I’ve felt that way in my life. It’s why I don’t ask others what they do. Imagine being unemployed or something in that moment. Just kind of brings you down in front of others needlessly, and it sucks because there genuinely is nothing wrong with being a stocker.