This summer, I worked at an amusement park as a cotton candy spinner. As you could imagine, my job was very messy, but I loved it! By making cotton candy, I did not change the world, but this job changed some of my views of the world. I learned a surprising amount by making something so simple.
People will always surprise you.
I always hear people complaining about how rude kids are these days, and I was dreading having to deal with them. To my surprise, the kids were great! They said, "please" and "thank - you" and were always really pleasant. Their parents however, were not. If we didn't have the right color of cotton candy, most kids didn't care. They just wanted sugar! Parents were the first ones to cuss me out if their kids got pink instead of blue cotton candy. It blew my mind. Here I was expecting the five-year-olds to throw a tantrum, but, all-in-all, it was the forty-year-olds I actually had to worry about! The bottom line is: people are always going to surprise you, so don't judge a book by its cover.
Never underestimate the impact your actions have on someone else's life.
My favorite days at work were not the ones where I was incredibly productive. They were the ones where I could genuinely tell that I made someone's day better. Seeing a kid's face light up when you give him a big bag of cotton candy is really fun to watch because they get so excited! In that moment, you are that kid's hero - maybe even their parent's because their son finally stopped whining about wanting cotton candy- and that's a cool feeling. One time, a girl fell and hit her head on the edge of a picnic table, and was crying. I saw her mom carrying her, and I made the little girl an ice pack. It took maybe 10 seconds for me to throw a scoop of ice in a bag, but the girl stopped crying, and her mom wouldn't stop thanking me. Something as small as me making an ice pack positively impacted their day. At the end of the night, which was like six hours later, they came back and thanked me. I had honestly forgotten about it because we were busy that day, but they didn't. If we all went through our lives thinking about the impact our actions have on strangers, what would the world be like?
True friends will always be there for you.
I worked about 50 hours a week on average this summer, and as a result my social life was practically non-existent. I usually had one day off a week, and that was typically spent laying in bed watching Netflix or catching up on chores. The days I could see my friends were great! It was as if nothing changed. I couldn't spend a lot of money this summer, but my friends didn't care! We did things like build blanket forts and play x-box, which were actually a lot more fun than grabbing lunch somewhere. True friends don't care if you're broke or don't feel like being around a lot of people, they just want to see you!
There is always a bigger picture.
This summer, all of the money I made, I put toward boring, responsible stuff like paying bills and rent. I know, ew. But, come fall semester, I will be able to do everything I want like live off campus with my friends, buy groceries, and maybe even a margarita or seven! It's tough to remember that there is a bigger picture, especially when you focus on everything you have to give up in order to reach your goals. I was supposed to go on vacation with my girlfriend and her family, but because I needed to pay for my apartment, I couldn't miss that much work. I was crushed. Responsibility can suck. A lot. However, I have to keep reminding myself, that while I will be pasty, I will at least be able to do what I want come fall.
No matter the dream, when it comes true, it's awesome.
This seems like a no-brainer, of course, but I truly realized it this summer. Since I was little, I have always wanted to make cotton candy. I have no idea why - I actually hate sticky stuff - but it's been a dream since I can remember. Cotton candy makers were the coolest people in any amusement park I went to. They just seemed to have so much fun, and they made the best food! Well, 15 years later, I am one of those people and I can tell you it's pretty awesome! This is a small, childhood dream come true, and I can't wait to see how fulfilling it will be when bigger dreams come true!
