I've been thinking back to my days slinging fries under the golden arches a little melancholy these days. True, at the time, they were some long days of working 5 days a week and going to school the other 2 so I could pay for college, but there may have been some lessons learned that I still use today. The basic retail thoughts of customer first were ingrained in everything we did as a polyester wearing drive thru workers. From filling out my first application with all the pertinent information and sweating through my first interview (in the lobby). Being told to park as far as possible from the entrance, leaving the best spots for customers. By arriving 15 minutes early for every shift to make sure we were ready to work when we were suppose to. We were taught to treat people (and that means kids too) with respect and kindness. We learned how to really count back change, on the fly and with everyone looking at you. We learned to prioritize and multi-task. Don't get me started on how much cleaning we did. When you know someone else is coming behind you to critique your work, you really get the glass steak-free. Many of these things are so common sense, but it's amazing how uncommon that kind of sense is. Without this job I would have never been able to pay for college. As my bills came due, I could write the check and it left me with little or no student loans to hang over my head after I graduated. True, Lansing Community College is not the upper crust of academia, but they helped me get an internship at the Lansing Journal which helped me work at the Tri-County Citizen and then on to the Saginaw News.
The funny thing is... the entire time I worked at McDonald's everyone there, including myself, was looking to find a "real" job. Now that I've been out in the work force for what the Social Security Office deems long enough to get some benefits, (but not enough to live on) I realize the importance and value of every job. I am now grateful for my time there and the valuable experience and work ethic I have today. It is good to have a job where you don't come home smelling like a Big Mac and Supersize Fry.
5 comments:
It sometimes scares me how many people think they are entitled to things. I wish everyone had to work for things, at least for a significant time period. Long enough to make an impact.
I hope I don't do a disservice to my children in the future by giving them too much. I know I sound a little bit like an old person, but good old-fashioned work is good for you.
You said it Erin! I think too many kids have it way too easy these days. Seneca's classmates are baffled by the fact that we don't have cable and I wonder how many of them realize that their t.v. costs money every month in addition to the electricity being used?
I cringe when I think of my "starter jobs" but they really did make me realize I did not want to spend my life being employed at such places.
I love old fashioned people! Here's another one. "Hard work builds character." True words in my opinion. It made me realize the value of my education and not take it for granted.
Whenever my kids are doing a chore, I pretend I'm the mean manager with a heart of gold. "If you gots time for leanin', you gots time for cleanin' boy!" I'm pretty sure my "employees" talk about me behind my back.
Growing up with very little and having to work for every bit of my education - I sometimes worry that I let my kids off too easy because I would like to have them have the things I never did: birthday parties )and an actual cake and present, too.), food in the fridge, heat in the winter....Other times I think maybe I expect too much. But I am positive that a solid work ethic is imperative to molding them into the type of adults I wish them to be.
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