An Unqualified Twenty Something’s Reflections from the Shop Floor and Maui County
Taylor Nelson
August 2021 - 2022
My name is Taylor. I was born and raised in Minnesota, and should have been an incoming sophomore at Princeton University this fall. On August 9th - my twentieth birthday - I met with my college and formally unenrolled from school for the coming year. We should probably back up.
For as long as I can remember, academics have been at the center of my universe. I spent fifteen years at one K-12 school (yes, fifteen - I was held back in preschool) preparing for one thing - college. However, after my first year at Princeton, you might say I had a bit of an existential crisis. I realized that the only things I’ve ever experienced in this life are class, homework, essay writing, and grades. I found myself craving to escape my “bubble” and live in the real world.
Once I had firmly decided that I would not be returning to school in the fall, the question became: what am I going to do? I pondered several ideas, including working on an organic farm, tutoring Mandarin, or bailing on my whole plan and just going back to school like I was supposed to. But then I was met with an opportunity.
Featherlite has always played a relatively small role in my life - my childhood was interspersed with sporadic visits to the office with my dad. But as many times as I’ve wandered around the warehouse floor looking for my uncles, I’ve never really known much about the company as a whole.
After a discussion with my dad, and correspondence with my uncles, I decided that (for as long as they would have me)
I would try my luck working at Featherlite - seeing what I could accomplish - what I could learn.
I wouldn’t say I’m qualified for the job. I have no technical skills, no training, and no knowledge of equipment or tools. But, I’m excited to see what working with my uncles and their employees does to change that. I’m freshly twenty years old, and for the first time in my life, I’m on the ground, working a full time job that promises to be physically and mentally demanding.
I have no idea what this year will bring, and that might just be the best part.