It’s 10:17pm on a Thursday night, the man at table fourteen needs silverware and Uncle Dave at the bar is still waiting for his takeout. All the cutlery is in the dishwasher. Chef Reuben can’t find any plastic take out bags. I have an AP Psychology quiz tomorrow, and math homework. I haven’t started school work and I have three tables to bus: It’s sweaty and hot from the open garage doors breathing liquid heat air against my big navy blue Chicago Bears sweatshirt.
Working and school need to find ways to compliment each other later in life. When studying medicine in school lands you a nursing internship or majoring in hospitality gets you a job at a hotel, where does hostessing at a local sports restaurant get me to at seventeen? Working as a hostess, I’ve learned how to expeditiously clear tables of leftover food, take phone calls for takeout orders and manage a roster of servers who are, more often than not, overwhelmed with customers. But I’ve also gained an appreciation for those who respect the cleanliness of the space and an immense repulsion for those who don’t. I’ve been able to keep opinions and aggravations to myself, and most importantly, I’ve been able to meet and engage with people from outside my bubble: single mothers who work overnight at hospitals and days as a server, men who live with their families working to save up money to go back to school and college kids who work for Cava and Chipotle. I’ve formed these relationships which eventually disappear when they get another job, or move out of home and into school. I have been able to see the world authentically and operate within it without the shackles of teachers, counselors or supervisors.
Although juggling working 15 hours a week with athletics, homework, college applications and friends, it has been the most gratifying experience of my life. The most memorable days are the busiest ones. Mopping up baby spills and easing the line of customers out the door on football Sundays are the days I am most proud of working. Filling up my car with gas with my own money, paying for camera repairs or getting my hair done alleviates that intrinsic ‘tying down’ of freedom that most teenagers experience. I’ve opened etrade accounts to manage and grow my money, something I never thought I would care about, much less manage consistently.
All this to say, working at a restaurant has changed me: my perspective, my independence, my awareness for others in the world and my appreciation for others working in the service industry. Even though there are days when homework piles up after a late six hour shift or I have to pass on hanging with friends to work, I would highly recommend work.
