Final days and a few complaints

by Noah Everard, Year 13 Student, Kaipara College

Raise your hand if you have already been sunburnt this summer. Don’t be ashamed, my hand is up too. Terrible isn’t it. The tropical U.V shows no mercy for easy goers and sunscreen despisers, but I don’t mind. A little bit of red skin is bearable, even admirable as a youth. It shows excitement and giddy impatience, a quite literal burning desire to enjoy the warm season. However, if you consider yourself old enough to have a drink with every meal or require reading glasses, then getting sunburnt is like forgetting to brush your teeth… It’s just bad form.

On the topic of Summer and more specifically, New Zealand Summer, I think we can all agree on how lucky we are to live in this country. Although New Zealand has its issues, be it economical, political or societal, and much improvement can be done in certain areas, we still look stellar when compared to the world stage. For instance, our country is not torn apart by civil war or armed conflict. Nor is a larger majority of the island’s inhabitants suffering from immense starvation, natural disasters or even genocide, sponsored by foreign imperialists. Thus I would confidently claim that I am lucky to live in such a stable part of the world, when others involuntarily suffer on a day to day basis. I believe that, due to my privileged life, it is my duty as a human to recognise and remember the current injustices that occur throughout the world and to try and alleviate the pains of others through giving them the excess which I receive. To have food in my pantry, clean running water and to wake without the fear of imminent death, is something I am grateful for. The realisation of these overlooked privileges is the first step in building solidarity and a sense of activism which will undoubtedly lead to positive change.

On a lighter note the job seeking continues. At one point I was tied up in having three separate jobs, trying to scrape together enough minimum wage hours in order to save and still have fun. For a few weeks it worked for the most part. BUT, I yet again came face to face with the apathetic profit incentive of a struggling business. Honestly it’s sad to try and get the most amount of reward for the littlest amount of effort when it is done out of the expense of the worker and/or customer. Attempting to find loopholes in employment and workplace laws and trying to make a quick buck out of everyone is not a sustainable or beneficial goal for you or the community you live in. Profit incentives should not take precedence over fair and good-natured transactions, of a win-win kind. So if you’re a boss or manager, don’t squeeze the workers just because you’re financially stressed… newsflash… we all are. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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