TTC & "You're too Young!"

TTC. The Toronto Transit Commission. Or what a lot of people like to call: Take The Car. I like to say Take The Chopper. To The Cars! Tik Tok Crap. Tick Tick Come-on!!!!!

It has been years since I took the TTC as an everyday transportation to school and clinical. I remember my dad telling me that when he took the RT about 30 years ago everyday to work, he said the tracks would freeze in winter, so shuttle buses would always take forever and were always crammed. Well, surprise surprise. 30 years later it's still the same.

I remember those days and it was not that long ago. 6 years ago! I remember the pain of waking up super early to get on the RT, transfer to the underground subway, and then transfer again, get off at my station, and then walk to school. It was best to wake up super early in case there was a delay in transit.

And that's the problem with TTC ever since it started operation. There are always delays. Signal issues. Old infrastructure. People cramming into the doors and then it further delays everyone. It goes on and on. The worst is fare increases almost every year. WHAT! IS! THAT! CRAP!

You get customers to pay extra every year, and the service remains the exact same as 40 years ago. CRAP. You would expect some sort of improvement after each fare hike, but it seems like things either remain the same or is just overall getting worse. Yet media keeps encouraging people to take the transit, save the planet, don't pollute. But why should I be paying for that and waste my time in delays when I could just walk or drive?

And this is exactly why I went from transit to car. I'm one of those rare chicks who actually love to drive. I am fortunate enough to have my own ride and to have enough funds to pay for gas and parking. So of course if I can save time and get to some place faster or at my own pace, then why not? I rather do that than cram myself into trains that need a desperate wash, or rather, people who have no idea what perfume is.

I am fortunate that I have the ability to rely on my own means to get from one place to another, and not on some outdated transit system in one of the most expensive places to live in Canada. Frankly, I am quite embarrassed to be living in a city with one of the highest cost to live in, and having a not-so-good transit system that is the only link between downtown and the suburbs.

Another thing I'm not a fan of: people telling me that I'm too young to have _______.

And what I mean by that is something medical. It can be something minor or something major. For example, I had a corticosteroid shot to my wrist because of an ossified loose body that was causing a great amount of pain when I moved my wrist. It came to the point that I could not grip onto a piece of paper properly. I could not twist the tubes at work. I couldn't untie my work gown because it was that painful. I just could not move my wrist.

Corticosteroid shot was one of the interventions, aside from physiotherapy and arthroscopic surgery. I knew physio was not going to help my situation, so it was recommended that I took the shot. I was told it would not be painful so I didn't need anesthetics, so I went along with it. I must say, getting an injection into a joint is PAINFUL. If you know of anyone getting an injection into a joint, ask for anesthesia. The pain lasted for about 2-3 days where I could not move my hand. After that, it was a lot better. Corticosteroid shots usually last about a year (at least for the wrist) before symptoms could return. It's been over a year, and my symptoms are slowly coming back, but at least I'm still able to move my wrist and do my daily chores.

When people hear that, they say "but you're so young!" Ok, yes I get it. But that doesn't help my situation. I already have a problem, I need to solve it. It really doesn't matter how old you are at this point. Point is, you have a problem, you need to fix it.

Same with when people come up to me and ask me to work 16 hour shifts. I think for a moment to see if it's worth it (i.e if I'm off the next day or for the next few days, then I would probably consider it). The part that I hate the most? "Oh but you're still so young,  you can do it! When I was your age, I pulled 16 hours all the time!" Thanks but this is 2015, not 1950. I know the limits of my body and when my body tells me it's burnt out, then I better listen to it and say no to a 16 hour shift. Plus I've noticed all the younger staff are actually burning out a lot faster than middle aged people. They are getting injured more, burning out, and having lingering long term effects on their health.

It's the whole perception of the older generation telling the young ones "well you're still young, you can do this. When I was your age..."

But when I look at the Generation X and Y in particular, I noticed a lot of the younglings pulling way longer shifts, not making more than their older counterparts, and yet burning out because they strive to become like their parents/older generation one day. We look at the older generations and how they managed to balance so many things, yet still work so hard, raise a family and not be crippled with medical issues. Why is it now that the younger generation is going through more burnouts and crippling issues?

There are probably many things that are contributing factors, but one of them that I really dislike and one that needs to stop, is this whole "you're too young" crap. Define what "young" means. Is there a specific age gap that we should all be looking out for? That if we fall under this "young" group, then we shouldn't have particular medical issues? We should always work 16-20 hours? No, I hate it when people say I'm "too young". It really doesn't make me feel any better. It actually makes me feel much more guilty because I can't do as much as other people. It doesn't encourage us; it discourages us.

So for everyone out there who are telling their younger generation that they are "too young" to be experiencing medical issues, you need to stop. You are not helping the situation. The person already has an issue. What's the point of rubbing a useless comment like that in their face when they are trying their best to deal with their situation? Just shut up please. You look a lot better with your mouth shut than uttering a sentence like "you're too young."