Blog #7: Real or Mushfake

Mushfaking is something I have done in order to fit in at both of my jobs, sometimes at school as well. I personally think that everyone has mushfaked at one point in their lives, otherwise they would not be where they are today.

First off, when I began working as a jeweler I did not know anything about metals, gemstones but especially not about diamonds. Being in that job implicated competing with my co-workers as it is a job commission based job which means that if one does not meet a certain quota, the chances of losing the job become much higher than in other jobs. Personally, I had to learn quickly otherwise I would lose my job, which meant not being able to afford rent, which would lead me to dropping out of college. So this mentality pushed me to be a quick learner at least in this field. Working as a jeweler required me to develop a new identity, and the easiest way for me to adopt that was by watching my co-workers interact with their customers which lead to sales. First off, I have to say that one has to be extremely mushfake, I heard my co-workers giving compliments to all of their customers, and necessarily not on the piece of jewelry that they were looking to purchase, but on any physical aspect of their customers, and after they completed a transaction they would criticize the customers behind their backs or just make mean comments among other associates. I had to implement some of these dynamics into my selling methods in order to be able to keep my job, I learned the language and the composition that is used when selling diamonds, there are a few characteristics that one has to learn on gemstones in order to seem knowledgeable. In fact one has to seem knowledgeable about any one of the products one is selling in order to be able to project trustworthiness. Also, when talking to customers one has to be very respectful. Sometimes it can be kind of complicated trying to sell a diamond to some customers because they will often want to talk about their personal lives and I am not known to be the most social person, not that I don't like socializing but its not my strongest quality, nonetheless, when selling, I will do everything to seem more of a friend to my clients than just merely a sales person. Although I am not the best seller, I am good at it, so I no longer have to mushfake when selling, yet, I do give fake compliments every now and then but I never criticize my customers behind their backs because I am not as mean as my co-workers.

Another example of how I had to mushfake and continue to pretend is at my internship. Currently I am an intern at the National City Chamber of Commerce, and everyone in the office wears professional attire, meaning that I began wearing suits, which I do not really like but there is no alternative on this aspect. I started interning in July of this year, and so all the community events, business meeting, economic development sessions and city ordinances are all new to me. Whenever I am at a meeting the use of many terms is implemented and I have to write everything down to later find out what such acronyms mean. Introducing myself and getting along with certain politicians is something that I am not too comfortable with, especially when I differ with their ideologies, but it is something that I have to continue to do in order to fit in. Fortunately, one of my co-workers is very outgoing and friendly and has helped me immerse in the chamber of commerce. I continue to read community and ordinance projects related to the city of National City to project myself as a knowledgeable intern. I continue to be intimidated by my boss since she graduated from both Harvard and Berkeley Universities, which I see as a great accomplishment, moreover, she is very professional and I have to work very hard to impress her. The most intimidating part is the businesses' meetings endings, where everyone takes the time to network and socialize, to me that is the hardest since I do not own a business, and usually the age difference between my potential employees and mine is usually a few decades apart, so I continue to learn and one day I will learn the discourse that being in this field requires.

I have always liked people to be honest and to be who they really are, but at times, we have to pretend in order to acquire knowledge and to become who we really want to become.