So I first started working in the deli last summer by accident. I was on summer break after my first year of college and I needed a job not only as a source of income, but to give me something to do. I filled out job application after job application until finally I got a call to come in for an interview. When I came in, they told me they didn’t have any open positions for cashier (which I originally applied for), said the only open positions were deli and overnight cashier. I took deli because it not only paid more, but overnight just sounded horrible. Little did I know that I wouldn’t be a fan of deli either.

After a full week of orientation and training, I was finally in the deli. It was a busy day and after a quick tour that left me feeling slightly overwhelmed, I was supposed to shadow one of the women who worked there to get a feel for the job. After about an hour of that I hesitantly started taking orders myself and I found that I could do the job. However, I also found out that the job was exhausting and after that first day I went home and cried.

Now, I will admit that I am a bit of a whiner and tend to be “dramatic”, but coming home that day I just felt full of dread. I thought that the job was horrible, that I was going to be miserable for the rest of the summer, and that I would never be happy again. Kidding on that last one, but the first two were legitimate fears and probably made me hate the job more than was warranted. For weeks after that I would wake up, cry, go to work, come home, cry, sleep, and repeat.

People would ask me how the job was going and I would just feel my heart sink in my chest because I would need to talk about this thing that was taking up so much of my time even on my days off (I was averaging about 30 hours a week). When I said I didn’t like it, they would obviously ask why. It wasn’t because of the people, because the people are one of the best parts of the job. It was mostly the hours I would work, the repetitiveness of the job, being confined to the same small area all day, and much of it was probably because it was new.

I kept a countdown to when I would be headed back to college, also the time I would be able to get out of the deli until the next break. Finally, the last day came around and I walked out feeling amazing, like I was free of chains I had been carrying for the last 10 weeks. I went back to school and when Thanksgiving break came around, I knew it was back to the deli I went. I was miserable again, but I also had a reason to be there this time: Christmas. I needed money to buy gifts for my friends and family and the best way to cushion the blow was to work.

So I did, I worked and it wasn’t as bad as it was over the summer, but it was still bad. I got sprayed by meat, my stomach hurt because of some food I had eaten on Thanksgiving, and I wanted nothing more than to go back to school. That week felt like three and after I went back to school I had more money in my pocket and, surprisingly, less hatred for the deli. Maybe it was because it was slower, or maybe it was because I was getting used to the job. Probably both.

Fast forward to now, I knew I needed to work over spring break. Two weeks off and I was getting low on money, so I knew I needed to make it up asap. So, I asked to work over break and so far, it has been pretty okay. I don’t hate the deli as much as I did and I didn’t feel as much dread coming back as I did over Thanksgiving. And believe me, that is a huge relief. So now I’m more content with the job I thought would ruin my life, and my bank account is thanking me for that.