Previously I've touched upon applying to jobs and the importance of applying. I realized that I forgot to mention what job I ended up choosing. Well, I was lucky enough to land a job at a restaurant about an hour away from my house with no prior experience in the food industry. I know, I was shocked, too, because restaurants typically prefer candidates with experience so that they don't have to allocate a large amount of time to train the new employees.

On my first day of training, I was taught how to use the register and how to prep before the place opened. The people working there were very welcoming and helpful, and when I placed a customers' order, they all gave me a hand, and I was very grateful and still am. Because I was only trained for about three hours, I didn't quite get the full experience of a typical day there, but my supervisor assured me that during the summer when it's nice out there would be a line that goes outside and even around the restaurant. I was scared, to say the least because when it's busy, I don't want to get any orders wrong or overcharge customers, so I prayed for rainy days so that I wouldn't have to be confronted with the lunchtime rush.

To my surprise, whenever it was my day to go to work, it rained so there weren't too many customers. For those that I did serve, however, I felt kind of bad for them because I suck at being a cashier. I was pretty slow, and I was very sloppy with packaging the food. When I ask them whether their food is to stay or to go, I usually forget right after they tell me because I'm doing so many things at once and end up having to ask them again. On my second day, my supervisor took over for me when there were just too many customers for me to handle and she noticed that I was struggling. I felt ashamed because I didn't want to ruin their reputation, and I knew how bad I was.

There's definitely a learning curve when it comes to the food business, and being a cashier is no easy job. I never really realized how much I had to multitask until I started to get into the swing of things. As a cashier, I have to make sure that I punch the orders correctly into the register or else I'll overcharge the customer (at my place, it's $2 extra for guac). At the same time, I have to package the food and get the drinks that were ordered and see whether or not the customers want their drinks opened. I also have to keep an eye out for the incoming food down the line because I try to see what the next order is so I can enter it into the register faster, but 75% of the time, I can't tell what the order is. Today was actually the first day that I handled the lunchtime rush, and I can't really remember what happened because it was very overwhelming. I served more than 100 people, and while I had some that were not very happy with my service, I tried my best given that there was a long line and that it was nearly 90 degrees in there, and I'm actually really proud of myself.

Needless to say, I am thankful for all of my fellow employees who helped me out at the register and for answering my stupid questions in general. I highly recommend getting a job in the food industry even if it's just for the summer. There will always be something to do (cleaning, restocking, etc.) and you will gain invaluable customer service and communication skills. You will learn the importance of working in a team and to accept the fact that not everyone can be pleased and that's alright. Most importantly, you will gain more confidence in yourself, especially when you're put into fast-paced and high-pressure situations. On top of all of these things, you can get a t-shirt and a free meal after your shift.