It's a rarity these days that you'll find people who absolutely love their jobs. I'm one of those few. I am a weekly tour guide at my school, and part of my job this summer has been to give two tours a day, five days a week. It sounds exhausting to some, but to me it's a blast, and I'm totally in love with my job. Here are just some of the reasons why being a tour guide is the best job ever:
1. You get to meet new people.
I've always been a huge people person -- I love meeting others, and hearing their stories. Being a tour guide provides tons of opportunities to get to know people whom you may have never met, and may never see again. And you really get to know them. Some are quieter than others, but some love to socialize just as much as I do, and it's so cool seeing their eyes light up while telling me what they're passionate about, or what brought them to my school.
2. You get to talk about your favorite place for an hour.
It's like talking about your home, your family, and your friends -- it's literally the best thing ever. I don't even have to fake the smiles when I talk about my school; it's where I'm happiest, and getting to share with others that sense of happiness and peace is the coolest thing.
3. You get to see others get excited about being at your favorite place.
This kind of ties into the others, but it's true. There's nothing quite like that feeling you get when you see that your stories are making people smile, and bringing the life and light out of them. Seeing possible future students walking around some place they may become familiar with pretty soon is so cool. If you're like me, you'll know that you get excited when you see others as excited as you are about what you're doing, where you're at, etc.
4. You get to walk around your favorite place for an hour.
This also ties in to number two, but it's super nice. When you're having a rough day or nothing seems to be going right, a nice walk around campus talking about how much you love it's beauty is a good way to lift your mood.
5. You make a huge impact in people's lives.
This is something that I tend to forget; every tour you do, every person you meet, is riding on you as far as their decision process goes. It's terrifying, but wonderful at the same time. Being a tour guide provides life-changing opportunities; opportunities which can totally alter somebody's life. If you get a bad tour, that totally changes your view of the school, and I never really think about that. It's only when you see someone say "You're the reason that I'm here" that it hits home, and the feeling is almost indescribable.
Those are only five reasons why I love my job, but there are so many others. Being a tour guide has taught me multiple things along with all of the ones aforementioned; it's important to be patient, it's important to be tolerant, it's important to be kind, and it's important to be personable. You are in a position that could turn someone on or off to the school, and as scary as that is, it's also an incredibly powerful and amazing position to be in.
