I realized that the most valuable lessons could be learned from how other people have lived their lives out in the workplace. From the lecturer herself inviting many types of guests, and allocating much of the lesson time for the class to act as an outsider witness. Though there are times where my attention span runs out from listening to a lecture too long, I felt that these sharing experiences from the guest speakers were too valuable and relevant for me to miss out on.

I’ve also learned a lot from the presentations that each individual student had to share with the class. They all varied from person to person, from different social classes, different beginnings and journeys. Some started off with a lot of capital, but some started from nothing but rose to success. A few even were the same ethnic minority students like me. Those stories in particular were captivating, and I wish I had known such hardworking and positive people in my club of life.

Inspiration, enlightenment and yet a bit of regret. Those were generally the feelings I’ve had when listening while applying White’s absent but implicit model with my own values. Many of these presenters are retelling an experience and story that is meant to resonate with others, and it is effective for the outside witness to also observe and reflect on the interviewee and their own values.

I felt that I had to go through a lot more hassle than most others in trying to find a person for an interview, as my social circle was meagerly small. I realized that I was not really close with any person out there in the world, besides my own family. No one besides me in my family works however, and my father has left the family in my care since last month so I’ve had to pay the bills.

I did not have any other close friends to ask in real life either, so I had to settle with a friendly client of mine online and present my part based on the information that they gave. Honestly, I did not know this person that well, and had to ask him stuff over text messaging alone. Fortunately, he had given some interesting content for my presentation and his profession seems like a future career path that my degree would qualify for.

Many of the questions I’ve directed to him were the relevant key questions as instructed in the guidelines for the assignment, though I did not go very deep into their personal life as I fear that we were not that close. His values resonated with mine when he speaks of the various elements that make up a good career, and he believes that a relaxing career can lead to a healthier wellbeing of yourself. I am aware of my weakness in handling social situations, so I heavily invest in finding work online as a freelancer. Making promotional videos & articles as my interviewee does is a relatable fit to what I want to do. One particular value that stuck with me is

I will admit that I am a negative person to a worrisome degree, and always had the looming dread that there was truly no future ahead for me. I had long determined myself as a person without worth in a society where I could not even speak nor read the local tongue despite being raised here. Yet from the many sharing sessions, I had discovered that even such people with similar circumstances can still succeed. Though I still barely have any connections, I’ve made my first Hong Konger friend after over 10 years and the teachers here like Ms. Eugenie also seem more than happy to provide me job opportunities.

The Future of Work has been a blessing in allowing me to reevaluate my life and values in retrospect, and think onwards to the future rather than my habit of dwelling on the past. With the paradigm shift to the gig economy nowadays, the course has shown me the light that I can achieve what I want to do in the future as an online freelancer.

Thank you very for teaching us, Ms. Maria Fung. I will always remember and treasure the patient kindness and wisdom you’ve shown me in the lessons spent together.

References

S;, C. M. W. S. R. (2009). The absent but implicit: A map to support therapeutic enquiry. Family process. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://moodle.uowplatform.edu.au/pluginfile.php/3325181/mod_resource/content/1/reading%20week%204%20Absent_But_Implicit.pdf

Freedman, J. (2012). Explorations of the absent but implicit by Jill Freedman. Explorations of the absent but implicit. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Explorations-of-the-absent-but-implicit-by-Jill-Freedman.pdf