I used to have many side hustles, too.
When my father was in the hospital and we were quickly running out of money, I took up as many side jobs as possible, I was, at the same time, a tutor, exhibition assistant and translator. I was still in university and we could use every penny I could make.
I always remember this one day, after a tutoring session, I went back home, I put on a song by Teresa Teng, (it was a little too old for me, but her voice has a soothing quality), and I lay in bed. I had exactly 30 minutes before I had to go out and tutor another kid. After that, I could go visit my dad in the hospital. I listened to her songs five times in that full half hour.
I continued to side hustle after my father passed away and I graduated from the university. I started working in a gallery. It took 2 hours to commute each way. I got off work at 7 pm every night and went straight to tutor kids. I was often very hungry when I got home, a little before midnight. I had very little time with my family. All I could think about was to make ends meet. Perhaps it was also my only way to re-direct my attention, so I could put a stop to my grief.
Reading about all these articles on side hustles, I wonder, since when has it become such glory? Shouldn’t a side hustle be on the side, less important, a continuation of day-to-day exhaustion, and an indication that the full-time job one has does not pay enough? The glorification of side hustles intrigues me but it also kind of makes me feel guilty. Why am I not jumping on the train? Am I not optimising all my free time and opportunities to make money?
But then I thought about the 30 minutes I got that one day, with Teresa Teng singing, “don’t know why… sadness surrounds me…” Maybe it is okay not to hustle. Maybe it is simply okay to give myself the hours of the day. Isn’t it?
