The summer after my freshman year of college, I had to get my first job. This was probably one of the hardest tasks I have ever had to do. For me, it was another step moving from a dependent child to a more independent adult. I had never held a job when I was in high school because my parents wanted me to focus on school, so I had never worked a day in my life. So being set loose, I was told: “you have two weeks. Ready, set, go.”

At first, it was very hard. I went all over town looking for places where people my age would typically be working. All my high school friends who had been working since they were sophomores found it easy to jump between jobs since they had the experience. I printed out a recently updated resume I originally wrote my senior year and filled out dozens of applications. Those two weeks passed by fast. I sent applications hoping to get my first couple of choices. I kept imagining myself working at the mall for the summer, or being a cashier at one of the high-end retailers.

I got no calls or emails back. I had absolutely no job experience, and it made sense because I would not be their first choice. Why choose someone who has no experience when there is easily another applicant with previous work experience? All I had to my name was being a high school graduate and a year of college. In hindsight, I do not think any of my volunteer work at the time helped my chances.

However, halfway through the third week, I finally got a call back from one of the places I applied to. It was not my first choice, but I was at the point where I could not say “I was above working minimum wage." I had no previous job to begin with, so I was not above anything. We had a set up a meeting time, and after my interview, I was more than ready to start working the following Monday. I was excited at the chance of working for my wages.

When I came aboard, it was very apparent that I was the new guy. I slipped up orders, forgot promotions, and had voids on my register at least once a week. My parents made a bet I would not last the first two weeks, and I would be back looking for more jobs. However, I stuck with it. I made sure to put a smile on my face every day no matter what happened. Some customers did not make that easy with over-the-top demands and always asking to speak with my manager. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I would never work a day in my life.

I started to get the hang of things as a couple of weeks became a month. I got better at orders, and always recommended the cheaper options for customers unless they were rude. The insults did not phase me as much, but the compliments became something to appreciate. A “thank you” here and a “please” there go a long way to making someone’s day.

After working a while, me and the staff all became close. We all dealt with long hours, rude customers and at the end of day, we were all in it together. A couple of weeks later, I had been told by the manager that I had received employee of the month. At that moment, I felt like I had truly made it, and this was the first of many accomplishments I would receive while working. It taught me a lot about responsibility and the importance of working on a team. The coworkers I had were some of the best. I could not have made it without them and none of this would have happened if my parents did not give me that two-week period.