Before the Money, the Map

The honest and most sincere answer to this requires me to separate what I want to believe about myself from what is actually true. Most people giving their response to this second HL prompt will definitely be confident about their skills. But in my case, I will go somewhere more sincere first.

If I find myself in a strange place that I have never been before, the very first thing that would be taken away from me is not my money but my social map. Most especially all the instinct that I have built on how to read a room. Who to talk to. Who is welcoming me, and which means of calculation do I have. I already have those things from a specific culture. And if I find myself today in an unfamiliar location, the possibility of everything changing is close to a hundred percent. I might not just have money. But I will be mostly blind in some ways that my skills won't be able to fix.

I have taken enough time to think about this before deciding to write it out. During my first two weeks, It will not be about income. I will only be observing and detailing everything. Watching how people operate by watching them closely in an open environment that no one will question me or ask for money. Who gives help to strangers, and who is ignoring them. And before I spend anything, I will vividly take note of what their social currency looks like. Because if I rush to offer my skills without paying close attention to how things are done in such environment, someone who is desperate might take advantage of my skills.

The after the second week has passed, I will start with something small. I can translate space into plans with basic materials; I can draw a bit. I can also interact with people in a way that they will feel welcomed which is what some people are looking for in a professional setting. Some people always need someone to write a letter or document for them, a space measured and planned out. That skill is hard to come by and that is why I need to listen first before I speak.

Five to six months is very enough for me to become genuinely functional, I won't say comfortable yet. But functional is still okay because of I want to get comfortable, I will require more time and I don't have that yet. Me saying staying functional is that I am doing something that makes the people in that environment know my name and they can easily associate with. And what would make the rest of the things possible is the reputation I am building.

What I have gotten to realize over time and life experience is that people won't buy skills first. They sort after the presentation and confidence we have. That is what they go for first. Though it's the skill I have that will get me the conversation. But it is my reputation and character that would get me the work.

Thank you for reading.

_{Images created by Gemini AI}