The Janitor

Spring 2018 College Graduation - no job lined up & completely broke.

My first car was repo’d the day before I moved back to college.

I was 19 years old and my mom couldn’t afford the payments on my Chevy Cobalt that I had been driving since I was 16. I had already finished one year of college when my mom informed me the repo man was after the car; all of summer 2014, before I moved back to college, I was hiding the car. 

My Dad had two cars at the time, and I felt like it would be a great help for me to use his truck. He was concerned I wouldn’t be able to pay for the gas and upkeep of the truck, so he made me a deal: get a job and I’ll give you the truck. 

My sophomore year I struggled to get any job that I was applying for, and when I told my Dad he replied “did you apply to be a janitor?”

I take no pride in admitting I thought he was joking, which I said to him. This made him very upset, asking me “why do you think you’re too good to be a janitor?”

I was shocked because that’s not what I thought…but I’d be lying if I didn’t have a negative association with the judgement passed onto janitors that I did not want to receive.

Forgive me for paraphrasing, but what my Dad told me next changed my outlook as I became a man. 

“Some people would kill to be a janitor if that’s the only choice they had.”

And if you followed my story, you’ll know that at one point in my life I was so broke that I applied to any job I could…yes, even to be a janitor - to which I wasn’t even interviewed. 

I pass no judgment when I say I’ve met people in this industry that turn their nose up to opportunities. Everyone’s motivation is different, but hearing their rationale made me understand my Father’s line of thinking more. 

Nobody wants to be the janitor but everyone respects clean floors. 

The number of times in my life I’ve been rejected for reasons other than the internal value I posses made me bitter for a long time. Now, I couldn’t care less about where I am not wanted. My energy is focused on the opportunities that are brought to me.

This year I’ve been blessed with opportunities from collaborating with artists to being interviewed on other people’s podcasts. Who am I to speak on whether an artist or platform is “big enough” or “important enough” for me to be on? Nobody, because like them I am trying to build something.

I am the janitor. I’m grateful for any opportunity to do my job. As far as I’m concerned, no matter how far I go in this life, God willing of course, I will be happy to collaborate with anybody willing to have me as long as it’s in good faith. 

Tomorrow, Sacramento’s Look Cypher will air a show I had the opportunity to be part of back in April. I’m incredibly proud of what we did that day and excited for people to finally see it.

Win or lose, I’m grateful for the opportunity to showcase my talent alongside other talented artists.