"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." -Martin Luther King Jr.
Almost everyone has had a job (or two) that just sucked. It happens, especially early on in life and early in most people's careers. These jobs are full of menial, sometimes unpleasant tasks. They lack praise, and can quickly lead to frustration or empathy, but they are still important.
Growing up in South Dakota, I worked since I was 14. Some of my summer jobs ranged from table busser to car washer to cashier, each seeming to be a step-up. None of these jobs were glamorous or high paying, but they taught me the value of hard work and putting in full effort no matter what.
For me, that has been key in any position I have ever held. No matter what it is, I do my best, because it is important. The effort put in is a direct reflection of one's self and shows a lot about them as a whole. Those who lack effort or enthusiasm, squeak by week to week, just gathering a paycheck and putting in minimal effort, are easy to notice and impress no one.
My most recent (and current) summer job in college has been working for the Parks Department in my hometown. Misled into believing I would be mowing grass, maintaining baseball fields and doing other basic maintenance, I was in for a rude awakening my first week.
Instead of doing what I was told in my interview, my first day I changed trash bags and picked up litter for the entire day, and soon realized that would be over half of my duties at the parks. I was essentially a trash man who got to weed wack on the side if I was lucky.
While I was discouraged at first, I decided to change it into a positive. The pay and hours were good, and not all days were completely disgusting. I was in charge of taking care of some fairly large urban parks that were used by many families. While it was a cycle of keeping the parks clean for those who end up trashing them again; I took pride in making each one look better than when I arrived each day.
The worst part of the job was dealing with the remnants of drug users who slept in the park overnight. This is an unavoidable part of living near a major city, but some of my experiences were eye-opening. Within my first week I had to dispose of used needles (using gloves and trash pickers of course) which were discarded right next to a baseball field.
This changed my perspective for the rest of the summer, how people could go a step above littering, to carelessly leaving uncapped, used needles where children play. Those experiences only added to my drive to do the best I could with my situation. I then not only made sure each park was clean, but also safe.
Having a plan of action for how I want to conduct myself no matter what I am doing or where I am working, has been something that keeps me going. I try to focus on work given to me, rather than the end result of the paycheck, even though honestly some days I would never do some things if I was not being paid.
Almost every job I have had during high school and college has been thankless, but I never need the affirmation. Whether they have been terrible or enjoyable, I try to take something from each. I remember that they are just a stepping stone and will only make me appreciate landing my dream job after college even more.
