Men for hire: easy route through difficult situation

Life gets messy, and the easy way out is often what we crave for. Recently, I had a taste of the downside of life and men for hire were my escape route. I would like to share my experience with you. I will try to keep it simple and straight to the point.

My name is Daniela, and I will turn 24 this year. I came to America to study. I came with big dreams to study with the hope of getting a good job so that I would be able to send money back home to my family. I had all my dreams planned out that I could visualize them. However, along with the line, things did not turn out the way I expected.

The problem started in my third year. I was sick and could not meet up with the workload at school. I missed a lot of lectures and assignments and tests. My Grade Point Average dropped terribly low, and the university politely told me to leave. After much consideration, I decided to drop out of the university.

Going back to my country was not an option. Even though it was not a fault of mine, I was pretty sure that they would be disappointed. I really didn’t know how to face my friends. I don’t know if I could face the shame. I decided to stay back in America to see if I could tap into some of the opportunities. The labour market of my country is so congested that a job that needs let’s say ten persons will get as much as two hundred applicants.

America is much better. There are lots of opportunities here and with a minimum qualification, you can easily get a job that will offer you enough to pay your bills comfortably. I took up a job to be cleaning a section of the street.

On one of my routine cleaning, I came across a poster with the bold template “MEN FOR HIRE”. I tried to ignore it, but it kept poking into my eyes, so I picked it up. In summary, the poster was advertising men for hire and how to reach them. The poster also tried to highlight some of those that need men for hire. “Depressed and disappointed” were the keywords they I saw on the poster that grabbed my attention and made me want to contact them immediately.

I folded the poster and slipped it into my pocket. By the time I was done for the day, I was exhausted. I went home and totally forgot that I had the poster in my pocket. I had almost tossed it into the washing machine when I felt the hardness of the pocket. I searched and pulled it out. I contemplated for a while then dialled the number.

The voice on the other end of the phone was sweet flowing. The voice was inviting and made me want to keep talking with him.

“I saw this poster about men for hire. Are you available for hire over the weekend?”

“Oh yes!”

We talked for few minutes and agreed that h would come over during the weekend. He was right in time as we agreed. When he came around, I made him lunch. While eating, he told me about himself and how he ended up doing what he was doing. His story raised my hopes and made me a bit freer to talk about my own story.

I started talking about myself. I was jittery at first because it was not a story I was proud of. When I was done, he stared at the table for a while before he spoke.

“What if I found you a better job with a higher pay?”

I was so excited I didn’t know what to say. My expression said it all. I was expectant but tried to curtail my joy to avoid being heartbroken. A few days later, I got a call for an interview. I turned out he knew a lot of people who were willing to help.

This was not the life I dreamt about. I would have asked for better if it was in my power, but I am still grateful because I now get more money and can help my family.