Day 4: What I learned from waitressing

I have been working in the restaurant industry for the past four summers. I have not been the best waitress but I have learned A LOT. I can still remember my first day when my aunt (family owned business) gave me the task of sweeping at the end of the night and I had to tell her that I had no idea how to sweep (embarrassing I know). This is one of the first things I learned on the job. While I have learned simple tasks such as sweeping, clearing tables, balancing a handful of drinks on a tray, I have more importantly learned how to become a better person. I have had a pretty easy life and am extremely thankful for everything I have. It is easy for people of my generation to feel privileged. I have grown with loving parents whose only flaw was having too much heart. They have provided me with the luxuries of a roof over my head, a smart phone, a kitchen full of food, clothes, makeup, honestly the list can go on and on. So when a girl like me who has been so greatly blessed gets her first job well, lets just say it brought me back down to earth.

I can be a very rude and aggressive person, which I am not proud to say. I used to go into places, for example, restaurants and was impatient because I did not understand how many tasks a server has to juggle at once. I was the worst type of customer! I did not realize this until I worked in the service industry.

The most important thing that I have learned from the service industry is that no one is better than anyone. Even though, my teachers and parents taught me to have good morals, I still made the mistake of feeling privileged and I am now ashamed of the handful of times that I was not as kind as I was taught to be. As a waitress I have dealt with some extremely kind customers as well as rude ones. And let’s just say that it’s much easier and satisfying to serve kind customers. Working in a restaurant allowed me to really understand how stressful it can be to serve others.

Rudeness and aggression will not get us anywhere in life. I had the misconstrued idea that a successful person was supposed to be demanding and aggressive. But the best way to become successful in life is to be kind to everyone you encounter. Being kind and respectful can be hard at times, and that is exactly why a strong person is one who is kind. Aggression to me is no longer a sign of power, but rather a sign of weakness.

So I’m calling myself out for all the times that I was impatient and rude to people who did not deserve it and am honestly sorry, I am changing!

Waitressing has also been extremely fun at times, I love the rush when every table is full, and I work with awesome people who I can call my friends now. I am so proud of my family for running a successful business and am thankful to be a part of it.

-Diana