Spectrum

1

I feel every eye on me as I walk down the hallway and towards my desk. This isn't exactly anything new. The whispers and comments I hear every so often rarely phase me. It's the cat calls and laughter I hear that phase me.

Women working in a 'man's workplace' is something I will always have to deal with. When deciding to change my major from Nursing to Software Engineering in college, I had no idea about the shit I would have to put up with. The men who are around my age, maybe even a few years older is something that I have learned to tolerate and have a strong patience with. The millennial group aren't even the ones creating all of the fuss, surprisingly. The newest generation in my workplace make working feel like a crime. The Generation Z group of men in my office are the ones who continuously drive me fucking insane.

At what point did this generation feel that whistling at women anywhere, let alone the workplace, was appropriate? It's exhausting, really.

As complicated as it may be, I don't want to change who I am at work just to deflect the men's advances. When I came to work in a dress just last Tuesday, it was as though the entire ceiling caved in and everyone just had to stare. I mean, really. Two inches above me knee is really scandalous? Get real.

"Good morning, Natalia." I hear a voice say from behind my desk. When I turn around, Brian is smiling at me as he extends a cup of coffee towards me.

"Hey, Brian. Thanks." I say as I grab the cup from his hand and take a sip. With as much money that was put into this office to make it one of the best startup companies, you would think that they would invest into some better coffee.

"How's the app coming along? Have you had any time to work on it?" He asks, taking a seat next to me.

"Ha! Funny joke." I say sarcastically, "Justin has me working day and night on a bunch of stuff for him. I mean, hey. I'm not exactly an engineer here yet." I shrug.

"Yeah, but interns should have time to finish their own work, too." He counters. I smile appreciatively at him, wishing that everyone else in this office felt the same way he did.

"Try telling that to everyone else in the office." I say, pulling out the notebook of tasks I have left to do. He glances over my list and cringes slightly.

"Damn, you do have a lot of work." He remarks.

"I know. All thanks to Justin." I say with fake enthusiasm.

"Well, I have some extra time later today. I can help you knock out some of this if you want the help. I really think you should throw your hat in the ring with this new project. It's a great opportunity. Grayson rarely does stuff like this." He reminds me.

"Thanks, Brian. I really do appreciate it. I think that if I'm able to do all of this and finish the project in time, I'll be respected a little bit more. And hey, even if I don't finish it by the deadline date, I can still work on it. Who knows, maybe it will be good enough for something else down the road." I say.

"Look at you, always looking on the bright side." He says with a smile. "Anyways, I've got to get to work. If you change your mind about the help, don't hesitate to ask. Please." He tells me as he gets up from his seat and walks towards the door.

I really wish that everyone in this office acted like Brian did towards me. The respect and kindness he uses towards everyone an a day to day basis is what gives me hope in this workplace. Sadly, he's probably the only one to ever give me hope in this place.

The day drags as I attempt to finish the miscellaneous tasks at hand. I swear, some of these are just to keep my busy for a full day. I rarely finish everything in the same day, because Justin gives me nearly impossible tasks to finish. He has me go all over town to find certain things for him, or to get him lunch on the opposite side of town. It's exhausting.