Dear First Job,

Your first job will stick with you for your entire life. Throughout every job that you get, you will always look back on your first one, because that is where your entire working career began. At that moment when you submit your first job application is the moment where you gain a newfound independence. You are now an adult, making your own money. This is the real world. You’re growing up.

I was 16 when I applied to my first job, and it was such a big step in my life. For two and a half years, I worked as a cashier and food preparer in a little burger joint. My skills included dealing with annoying customers, making awful liquidy milkshakes, burning food, and sitting on my butt and pretending to make myself look useful. As a teenager, your first job is usually something so simple, whether it is working in retail or fast food, babysitting, or even being a summer camp counselor. You’ll hate it, but it’s the only thing you could possibly get without a degree, and you’re desperate for money. It’s not that bad, though. There are some perks and things that I will be forever thankful for.

I walked into my old job the other day, and I felt at ease. My old boss was just as friendly as he’d always been. Some of my old co-workers that still work there had dropped what they were doing to come and catch up with me, and we were just as close as we used to be. The phone rang, and in my head, I said, “Thanks for calling Wayback Burgers. This is Emily. How may I help you?” It was a phrase that I was so used to saying over a dozen times a day, every single day. I still knew where everything was, I remembered my clock-in code, and I even knew the recipes for what went on our famous cheeseburgers.

This was my home. With the people in this building –my boss, my co-workers, and the customers, I had formed friendships, relationships, and a true happiness and comfort with this place and everyone in it. And with that, I owe you all a “thank you.”

Thank you to my old boss, for giving a little 16-year-old the opportunity to show you what I was capable of. Thank you for acting as my mentor and teaching me the true meaning of independence and responsibility. Thank you for acting as another parent to me. You’ve watched me smile and cry and grow as an individual, and you’ve done nothing but give me advice and support me through everything. Thank you for planning work holiday parties, that allowed all of the employees to have fun and spend time together. You really were the piece that held this crazy family together.

Thank you to my old co-workers for becoming my second family and my best friends. You were graced with my presence almost every single day, and because of that, we grew such a strong bond. You have seen me at my best and at my worst. Some of you showed me what friendship was, and I even learned what love was. You made the seemingly endless shifts bearable, and even fun at times. I didn’t mind slaving over a hot fryer all day making only minimum wage, as long as I got to experience it with you all.

Thank you to all of the customers that I have ever had the pleasure of helping. No matter how difficult some of you may have been, you were still the prime reason that I even had a job. I had the opportunity of meeting so many new and different people each and every day, and some of you even cracked jokes with me or complimented me, and without knowing it, you turned some very bad days into much better days, even just simply by smiling at me.

I appreciate everything about this job so much. So thank you, Wayback Burgers, for making me into the hard-working woman that I am today.

With love,

Emily