The summer after your freshman year of college is a tough one. We tend to be separated for four long months from the amazing best friends we have just made. Many of us cannot afford to stay in our new hometown for the summer because we spent too much money on fishbowls having a good time at Good Time Charley's, or we can't afford the cost of summer tuition for classes (and who wants to take summer classes unless we have to?). Come May, we pack up the jail cell-sized dorm rooms that we have come to hold dear to us, say our final goodbyes to our lovely friends (trying not to cry again), and either drive or fly back home to our parents.
A few days back home, we all realize that our beloved mommy and daddy are no longer going to fund our Starbucks and shopping addiction. We are told that we need to "get a job" (whatever that means). We think of where we could work with the very little experience we have on hand. We apply at retail jobs and restaurants alike. Waiting in anticipation day after day to be able to fund our love of clothes, we finally get a call. We sit down, put on a pretty smile, and convince our future manager that we are perfect for the job. We get hired, and summer changes instantly.
Showing up on the first day, we are told that we have to learn everyone's names, the restaurant's layout, and the entire menu. Overwhelmed, we follow around our trainer like an eager puppy waiting to be on our own and making money. Little do we know that our coworkers who are always dressed the exact same as us due to uniform standards will soon become our family away from our school family.
We learn that the service industry in a tough one. There are days where the customers are extra demanding and leave no extra tip for your hard work, and you want to rip the hair out of your head. There are other days where it is as slow as your 95-year-old grandmother and you sit there and talk to your coworkers about everything.
Working as a server for a summer is a blessing in disguise. Not only will you make friends in your city the same age that attend different universities, you will also make friends who are 20 to 30 years older than you who will make you crack up laughing constantly. Your manager will become more like your mom-ager (love you, Rachel). The customers will either make your day wonderful with the conversations you have or will make your day a living hell with all the demands you have from a single table along with the many other tables you are serving in the restaurant. It will also teach you patience. Dealing with the more difficult tables will teach you that you will always face troubles in every work environment. When the kitchen undercooks something and you have to apologize to the table and fix it for them, it will help you learn that life doesn't always travel smoothly. There will be many bumps in the road, and sometimes you just have to play damage control.
Working in the service industry has taught me a lot about people, whether it is those that I work beside or those that I am serving that day. I am so thankful for working here and being able to support my online shopping addiction (hello, t-shirt swap page) and being able to start saving for a study abroad fund. Don't be so rude to your servers; most of the time we are just working hard in order to make your life better and to fund our love of coffee.
