The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo
By: Amy Schumer
“I’m pretty sure that’s why I officially became a woman that day. Not because of the dumb ancient ceremony where children are gifted bonds they can’t cash until they’re twenty-five (by which time they have lost them). No, I became a woman because I turned a solemn, quiet room into a place filled with unexpected laughter. I became a woman because I did, for the first time, what I was supposed to be doing for the rest of my life” (65).
Amy Schumer recounts her transition into womanhood through a story about her bat mitzvah. Contrary to Judaism’s belief that Jewish girls become women on their thirteenth birthday by having a bat mitzvah, Amy found that she became a woman through a specific experience, not a ceremony.
Being the dramatic girl that she was, Amy adored the spotlight. As a result, she utilized her bat mitzvah ceremony as an opportunity to showcase her stage skills and read her Torah segment for her temple debut on stage. Amy sung those Hebrew words with an immense amount of passion and zeal, even though she had no idea what she was actually saying. She recalls the two main things she was taught in Hebrew school: how to read Hebrew and how to read Hebrew. Amy’s Hebrew school teacher was a passive, slightly scary man, named Mr. Fischer. Amy learned the hard way after being sent to the principal’s office that asking for the meaning of the Torah was not allowed in Mr. Fischer’s classroom. As a grown-up, Amy feels womanly that she can ask whatever questions she would like to.
On the day of Amy’s bat mitzvah, a rising star made her first Broadway debut at a Jewish temple. Although Amy’s performance was spectacular, her dream suddenly came crashing down when she hit the final note and her voice cracked. Then came silence. Moments passed, but then came the first laugh. Soon after, the whole audience was laughing, even Amy was hysterical. It was in that moment, with every single person in that room laughing together, that Amy became a woman. She didn’t become a woman because she completed the Torah portion of her bat mitzvah, but because she did what she would do for the rest of her life: make people laugh.
Amy’s definition of her transition into womanhood brings readers a sense of optimism, warmth, and inspiration. She does not consider herself a woman based on society’s standards or customs, such as having a bat mitzvah, getting your first period, or your first kiss. Amy considers the transition into adulthood to be a unique experience for each individual who finally finds their purpose in life. Amy’s purpose in life is to make people laugh, and on her bat mitzvah, she made that happen.
As a teenager, a predominant source of stress to me is making sure I keep up with my friends in the stages of growing up. I fear that if I fall behind, I will always be seen as a child when everyone else around me is growing up and accomplishing what life has to offer. Especially in high school, the process towards adulthood is very specific and taken seriously socially. I used to put in a lot of effort into completing steps towards womanhood in high school standards and I would flaunt my accomplishments in order to fit in. After reading Amy’s passage on growing up, however, I realized that accomplishing feats that my peers have does not qualify as me growing up. My transition into adulthood cannot be measured by (in Amy’s words) “cliched shit”, but in moments that define my character and force me to take charge of my life. After reading Amy’s chapter on defining womanhood, I realized that I am a woman today because I can reminisce on defining moments in my life that showed the true person I am inside and how I can change the world.
“One of the things I’ve learned as a boss myself now is to have high expectations of people, but also to keep it realistic. You can’t expect someone to work past their potential. If you’ve hired someone with the mathematical aptitude of a pet rock, and she eats all your hot dogs and doesn’t know how to make change, try to figure out how and where she shines, and let her excel in that area instead… I always think of that goldfish quote often attributed to Einstein: ‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ Let that goldfish go someplace where it can join a school- and then hire an actual climber instead” (125).
When Amy was fifteen years old, she worked a 5 a.m. shift before school at a little bodega by the train stop. Although she was supposed to ring up hot dogs, coffee, and newspapers, she instead ate the hot dogs herself. In addition, she did not know how to make change. As a result, her paycheck took a hit with every hot dog she consumed. Amy’s bosses at the time were two Indian men in their late forties who knew that Amy was not well equipped for the job. To make themselves feel better, they belittled Amy by trashing her, but Amy did not blame them because she knew that she was an awful employee. She was just thankful that they never fired her. As a result of this job experience as a fifteen year old, Amy learned how to evaluate a person’s potential and place individuals in situations that will allow them to thrive, rather than beat them down.
Amy realized that although she was not the best cashier, it did not mean that she was a worthless employee with no potential. The fact that her bosses did not fire her for eating all of their hot dogs and her inability to make change, made Amy realize that people need to regard others with patience and understand that every individual has their own area of expertise. As an employer now, she makes a greater effort to be forgiving with the employees she hires because they put up with her and all of her mistakes and ineptitude, so she should reciprocate that respect towards them. When she comes to the realization that an employee does not have the capacity to fulfill their job duties, she lets them go so that they have the opportunity to go someplace else where they can thrive and succeed.
This quote was inspiring because I find myself being stretched, bent, and molded to fit into society’s standards if I wanted to be successful. After reading Amy’s experience failing as a cashier but growing up into a successful employer, I realized the importance of understanding one’s own potential. I have a fear of failure and rejection, but when Amy said that she let her employees go if they were unable to successfully fulfill their responsibilities, it opened my eyes that failure is necessary in order to find one’s forte. This quote also changed the way I perceive my peers. In school or work, I sometimes find it difficult to better a colleague in their job, and I used to waste time trying to teach them something beyond their aptitude when I could have assigned them to a job that they had the potential to successfully complete. In life, it is hard to get everyone on the same page. Amy taught me that everyone has their own potential to succeed in different fields so that when we are placed in the right spot, greatness can be achieved.
