At seventeen, it probably isn’t much of a surprise that the
job I called my first is still the one I go to each day. My first job is my
current. I work at a very, very well-known fast food restaurant. As
non-glamorous and unappealing desert-like heat, constant burns, underpayment,
and a beyond stressful work environment sounds, it isn’t always everything
everyone gives it a bad rap about. Yes I feel I get paid less than I deserve,
yes there was a solid month I burned myself on something at least once a week (which got old very quickly). Yes,
there are rude and/or flirty customers and mean, condescending, employees that
are hard to be around. There is all that, and worse. There are days I am beyond
miserable, and on those days all that keeps me from walking out the door and
never looking back is the money.
So, why do I stay, you ask? Well, partly my age and my
availability due to school gives me very limited job options right now. But,
along with all of the plentiful, seemingly never-ending negatives of this job,
there are actually some positives. Firstly, a large reason I stay is for the
resumè builder I have going for myself, and my own sense of accomplishment. You
see, I am merely seventeen years old. Unfortunately, this particular company
has rules in effect that you cannot become a manager until at least the age of
eighteen. I have worked with this company, at a couple different locations, for
a consecutive year and three months. After a while, my general manager
expressed her desire for me to be a manager when I could, and even gave me the
opportunity to do it part-time while in college. I was reluctant at first, and
didn’t pay it much thought. Until she mentioned it again. Long story short, I
worked countless hours off the clock getting all my online managerial training
done, and in a shorter amount of time than the managers themselves were doing
it. I am more trained to be a manager than some of the actual managers are, a
fact I would never verbalize to them, but merely think of and smile to myself
sometimes. All I have left to do to be the maximum certified is to go to an
actual classroom setting after my birthday to complete my certification. My
general manager of my new store has already told me I’ll be becoming a manager
as soon as it is my birthday. I have a sense of pride that my hard work has
paid off. Not many eighteen year olds I know are managers, or even care about
working their way up. I am not disillusioned, nor is my family, friends, or
even boss, that this job is my life, my career. I will be leaving within a year
or two, and I haven’t indicated otherwise. This is a chapter, not my book.
But, through all of the stress, exhaustion, soreness, and
anger, I know I will look back on this job, this part of my life, with gratitude.
It has taught me so much. I have few good qualities in my own eyes, but my work
ethic is one of them. This job rewards that, and getting recognition, as seldom
as it may be, for all my hard work, is a nice feeling. This job has taught me
stress management, people skills (i.e. PATIENCE!), time management, and
leadership. I have learned more from this world-famous restaurant, and
experienced more within its walls than I ever could have imagined. Most days I
dread going, and usually I am less than enthusiastic about certain parts of the
job, but I am glad that I can one day look back on it and see where I started
and how far I came. I know things I have learned at my first job will stay with
me forever, and so will all of the good memories I have made there with the
people who came into my life because of it.
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