Assignment # 1
Hello, Class!
My name is MariaIsabel Gallardo; mostly everyone calls me Maria easier to pronounce. I was born in Ecuador and move to New York with my family at the age of eight, from the day one New York became my home. This my third semester at CWE and this class is part of my curriculum at first I wasn’t sure of what to expect from Sociology of Work except for the fact we will be learning about the history if work and the ethics that come with working. I look forward to learning the history of labor and the ethics that go with it throughout the class.
My family owns a Jewelry store where I currently work. I have been working there for about five years already. I used to work for an ESL school as administrate assistant and had to take a leave of absence due to an accident I had while vacationing in Cabo. I was not able to work. Therefore I took a leave of absence and with live always changing I ended up moving to Ecuador for about eight months. After the eight months I move back to New York, and when my father ask me to help out at the store, I accepted and from the day on I been working there, while going back to school to obtain my degree. My dream career would be to become a psychologist or a counselor for Middle School.
My fraternal grandparents who I have always been close were both hard workers in Ecuador. My grandmother who I’m named after Maria is an orphan and from a very young age had to work to earn a living to be able to support herself. While working for a wealthy family who she remembers treated her like a daughter, she meets my grandfather felt and love and marries him at the age of 18. From them on she was always finding ways to make a living from having a bar at a soccer clubhouse, where she would cook breakfast, lunches, and dinners. My grandfather worked doing administrative tasks for the city and the bull fighting Association since Bull fighting was pretty big deal in Ecuador. Sadly, he passed away ten years ago. My maternal grandparents, I don’t know much about them, not much there to tell. My father has worked his whole life back in Ecuador he had his own business, it was a coffee shop. When we move to New York, we started to work in the family store and has been a jeweler since then. My mother has been a housewife most of her life, with some period of times, she is always in the jewelry business.
I believe the fact I see how hard my grandparents and father have been hard workers; it has imprinted on me also to be a hard worker. Also the fact to see my mom been so dependent on her husband has made me want to be independent and be able to support myself. I moved out of my mother’s house and owned my own at the age of 18 years old while I was able to support myself and work at the ESL School, never looked back. Having to support myself made me put school on hold and just work, now I have decided to go back to school and get my degree. Having to listen to how my grandparents and parents didn’t have the chance to attend college and get a degree has defiantly impacted my decision on going back to college and get a degree. While I love to work with jewelry, I also love to help people out, and my dream career has always been to be a counselor or psychologist. I think having different plans and not putting all your eggs in on basket. To see your loved ones struggle to make a living is a huge motivation for me and to be able to provide for my future kids keeps me going and try to improve in my work, education and life for the better.
From reading Weber, I would say he believes in having a strong work ethic will help you achieve your goals and be wealthy. He believes that time is money and should not be a waste. Therefore if you are working and earning a living, you are not wasting your time. You are working for a better life. It was interesting to see how he used religion to compared to work ethics; I helped me have a clear view on the work ethics work.
