After applying for that job and going to the interview, learning you got hired is one of the best feelings in the world. There are so many feelings you experience including anxiety and excitement all building up to that first shift. For most teenagers, getting the job is the one way to getting a car or saving money for a prom dress. Whatever the objective for having that job is, there are a lot of lessons experienced whenever you get that job. Last summer, I got hired at a local ice cream/mini golf spot on the edge of town. Even though the job only lasted a few months, I have so much to take away from the experience. Here are ten things I learned from my first job.

1. Responsibility. This one is probably the most obvious one. I had always been a self-efficient person when it came to school work. I had equipped pretty good time management skills when it comes to deadlines and studying, and whenever I was given a task, I aimed to complete that task to the best of my ability. When I got hired last May, working throughout the summer only enhanced my life skills. I was working for someone and often left alone to act as a manager to provide the best service of summer fun to the customers that stopped by.

2. Remaining calm and collected. Now, if you talk to my parents or friends, they might say I'm a pretty easy going person. When I got hired for a job that worked directly with people, I thought it was a literal piece of cake to smile and provide a task. That's just how I've always been. I have always been the one to try to do whatever I can for people. However, the challenge here was not letting myself get too emotional whenever a customer was displeased with a service or got their order wrong. I always felt guilty whenever things went wrong, so I had to make sure to keep my composure and not get flustered when things did not go as planned or intended.

3. Asking for help. It is so important to ask for help and admit when you do not know something. Unfortunately for me, I struggled a bit last summer. I like to believe I inherited being stubborn and most of the time, I can use it to my advantage. It goes along that "I can do anything," attitude. When I made a mistake at work, I would try to resolve it myself, which only made the situation worse. I had to learn that I needed to fess up when I make a mistake to learn and achieve the goal of best service possible. My boss will not get disappointed when I ask questions as I am trying to grow as a worker, and my co-workers will not believe I am unqualified if I ask for their assistance.

4. Your Boss Will Not Have Your Best Interest In Mind. Most people envision their boss may be understanding when it comes to being in high school. It is a busy time in a teen's life with extracurricular activities and preparing for the transition into adulthood and college. My boss was the exact opposite. Where I worked was located in a neighboring school district who view where I attended negatively. With that sense, my boss looked down upon me for the stereotype that placed on my high school. Let me just state that there is nothing wrong with my high school. My boss believed that the root of all the gun violence and drug issues that happened in town resulted from the high school, which is not true. Along those lines, my former boss believed I was out to steal from his business, which I never did. This started to become a running joke among my former employer that would always trigger my anxiety.

5. The Customer Is Sometimes Wrong. Here me out on this one. When there is wrong order, yes, the customer is right. However, when a customer decides to take their anger out on you, that is not right.

For instance, there was one night where we were all busy. There were tons of people coming to play mini golf and the county-wide festival was happening, so a lot of people were stopping by after. This one girl and I were completely swamped with others, so we were rushing to get them all completed while the line never seemed to stop. This was causing some customers to become irritated we were slower than usual.

However, there was one customer in particular who just was not having it with us. When she came to place her order, she requested we keep her ice cream in the freezer until she finished her meal and started to drive home. She wanted me, however, to wait till she got up and started approaching the line, so I could just yell out her ice cream order so she could just leave. She did not want to wait in line any longer. I kept glancing out the window, it was getting darker, and the light inside the small shack was causing a reflective glare off the window. I literally had to glare to try to see out as we had poor lighting outside if you were not on the course. Due to this, the customer believed I was glaring at her and reported it to my boss that I had poor behavior. My boss proceeded to yell at me for losing a customer even though I tried explaining my perspective. The customer than said, "it was no big deal," and took her ice cream and left.

Sometimes when we are doing the right thing, it may not be reciprocated that way. As long as you believe you were in the right, you should not guilt trip yourself even if you get yelled at.

6. Your Co-Workers Have Your Back. Unlike my former boss, my co-workers were very supportive and understanding. They understood that it was my first job and helped guide me through work. I will never forget the conversations that I had with a few of them. The majority of the girls I worked with were in their first or second year of college. It was the summer going into my senior year and I was a bit nervous, so they were open to me asking questions of what their senior year was like or how they decided to go to college where I was starting to make my own decision. They also comforted me during the nights were my boss never treated me the best. I am beyond apprecitative for them.

7. Money Management. Just like most teenagers, we sometimes want the world and more. Some of us want the newest fashion trend or makeup collection, which we cannot always afford. I had to set up my first bank account and learn that sometimes I have to say no to going out to eat every week. There were some weeks where I had a decent amount of money between paychecks or barely $5. I am hoping this has prepared me for the upcoming college day amd living on my own.

In summary, I am grateful for my first job. It may not have been under the best circumstances most days, but it did teach me valuable lessons that helped shape me who I am today. I also got another summer job this summer that I love. In a way, if I never had to undergone the bad moments, I would not be as happy as I am today.