"Is this all you do?" I get asked this question many times from the guests I serve. Less than two weeks ago, I had an answer I believed they would find admirable. I would say, "No, I also attend Grand Canyon University and I will graduate with my Bachelors in a couple weeks." I knew that by saying that it made me sound successful and like I have my life together but just because I was in school did not mean that I was any better than my coworkers who were not in school. They are just as successful because they work extremely hard, they make good money which pays their bills and they put up with a lot of shit that others would not be able to handle. So please, stop asking "Is this all you do?" as if serving is not a real job.

I have worked in offices, retail, fast food and now a sit-down restaurant. After experiencing all of these environments, I can 100% say that serving is the most physically and mentally demanding job I have had. Before I started serving, I had this mentality that serving was easy and fun. It is fun but it is not always easy.

I will start with the physical demands of the job. I work at a fairly large restaurant. There are two patios, two bars and a small and large dining area. My coworkers and I are constantly moving at a fast pace throughout the restaurant carrying trays of drinks and plates of food for long hours. There is no such thing as a 9-5 in the restaurant industry. There is not even an out time -- we leave when we are no longer needed. This means that we may work anywhere from 5 to 12 hours, sometimes even longer. We do this several days out of the week, which makes the job very physically demanding. I enjoy it though because it keeps me active. When I get asked, how I stay in shape, I simply say, "I am a waitress."

Now on to the mental demands, which is the part that makes most servers walk out on the job. When you are at a restaurant do you ever think about all the tasks your server has to accomplish, probably not because you are there to enjoy time with friends and good food but let me tell you so you can have a little more appreciation for your server. First off, your table is not the only one we tend to. No, we have many other tables and sometimes they are not even near each other which means we are walking all throughout the restaurant. We are constantly thinking of what we need to do to keep our guests and managers happy. Greet table 24, get table 13 drinks, do not forget table 22's ketchup, answer a question and get mayo for a table that is not even ours, ring in food correctly and do not forget anything, especially special requests, apologize to table 15 whose food took longer than expected, get our manager to apply a discount when they are busy handling a million other tasks, fill the ice machine because we ran out, bus multiple tables so that a new table can sit, try to keep cool when table 52 is being rude, figure out how to prioritize the five tables that just sat in our section all at one time and do not, do not forget to smile while all of these thoughts fill our head. At chaotic times it can be overwhelming and all we want to do is crawl in a corner and cry.

However, we do not give up. Servers are some of the most resilient and hard working people you will ever meet and after a hard shift, we still love our job. We love getting to talk to many different people, we love not working a 9 to 5, we love being on our feet and not in an office, we love being able to make hundreds of dollars in one night, we love being in a fun environment. Yes, it is a real job and yes, servers are just as successful as a person with a degree and a salaried position. Success is what you make of it and anyone who works hard and loves what they do is successful in my book.