Do you remember your first job? What was it? How old were you when you got it?

Once kids hit their teen years (high school years) they start wanting to be out of the house spending time with their friends doing whatever they want. The only issue is that most of what they want to do require money and most of them don’t have any unless they ask their parents for it and even then, most would need a ride to where they want to go. They don’t have a job or a car, which means they sometimes start to think about getting a job, depending who they are and how they were raised.

I was different when I was in school, in a way. I was like every teenager wanting to go with her friends, however, I didn’t have a car. I didn’t really want to drive at that point, I also didn’t have a job either. I was able to go out but I always needed to get a ride from my mom or from a friend who had a car.

For me, I was 20 when I got my first job, I know the age is usually 16 or 18 depending on the job but for me, it was never about getting a job. During my time in high school, I was playing soccer and I was in chorus for two out of my four years in high school. When others were going off to work after school, I was always at a game or at practice after school.

I got a job working at Subway. I started working there two years ago and I can honestly say it has changed me a lot. I saved up my money, got my own car, became close with coworkers, and I got to go to some concerts with my coworker. I also got to go places whenever I wanted— well sort of. I now had a job that would allow me to have spending money, for the movies, hanging out with friends and going line dancing.

Believe it or not, I got my job because of my line dancing. I received a note from someone. In the note, she stated that she owns a Subway and she didn’t know why she didn’t tell me when I told her that I was planning on looking for a job in the summer.

She said she liked how I interacted with her grandkids while at Mishnock and she felt I would make a good employee at Subway. She also said that I could go in for an interview if I wanted to. Needless to say, I made the call to set up the interview and got the job.

The way I got this job was another reason I changed so much since I got the job. I got close to my coworkers as I’ve mentioned before; by doing so it helps make wanting to go to work worth it. I finally got the courage to get my license— which honestly I didn’t think I ever would. They are people I can talk to and ask for advice, they were there when I was conflicted on asking my boyfriend out— who was my best friend at the time— they were also there when I was having drama with some friends of mine.

Having this job and new friends within the job has allowed me to go to concerts. More than I thought I would ever go, and ones where I wasn’t going with my family. I got to see Lady Antebellum with my friends from the barn. I got to see Florida Georgia Line with my older sister. I also got to see Sam Hunt, Chris Young, and Cole Swindell with my coworker and we plan on seeing more this summer.

I can honestly say I love my job, I know that’s a little weird saying it, but I really do. I love the coworkers— yes we may not get along sometimes but most of the time we do. I also enjoy the customers— we get customers that are regulars. I enjoy getting to know them, getting to know their order and getting to joke around with them.

I was told by friends who have worked at Subway that I shouldn’t work there which was the cause for my hesitation on calling and going for the interview. But I can honestly say that despite what people told me, I am glad I have the job.

The only downside of working is when we have a rush. Where we are located we are on the way to Narragansett Beach. This means we are busy mostly during the day in the summer. We are also busy when sports happen around East Greenwich, like Goddard Park and at the high school. We never know when we will be busy or if we are going to be slow. We have to be ready for whichever comes our way.