"I haven’t slept in a very long time."
“Why’s that?”
“I work two jobs at two different hotels. I just finished three shifts in a row. Last night I went to my room service job at 11 PM, and worked through the night until 6 AM. I went home to take a shower, then had to be at the other hotel for my front desk job at 8 AM. I worked there until 3:30 PM, then ran back to the first hotel for another shift that started at 4 PM. I just got off a few minutes ago, and I’m sitting here to rest for a moment before getting on the train home.”
“Oh, wow.”
“I work this hard because I’m a single parent. I came here when I was very young from the Dominican Republic. I’m very happy with what I have done. I started with nothing and I raised two kids. But I have to work two jobs so that they can get an education and go to college. I tell them everyday: ‘Look at how hard I work. Look at how I don’t have time to sleep. I can’t control my own time. I can’t manage my own schedule. This is why you need an education. I work this hard so that you can do the things that I am unable to do, and have the things that I can’t have.’”