A 15-Year-Old Waitress

My first job was as an employee for a local Bed and Breakfast in my super small, population-of-2000, everybody-knows-your-name hometown. And I say ‘employee’ because I can’t accurately describe what I did for that business with just a single title. I started out as a humble room cleaner. Soon, though, I was a breakfast waitress, then a cook, then a waitress-cook combo. Heck, I even taught the owner’s child piano lessons. By the time I was 19, I was the business’s most senior employee — having been employed four years longer than anyone else.

But let’s go back to the golden days, the days that truly taught me how to be a hard worker.

Not many 15-year-olds have the opportunity to have a job like mine. I was one of the lucky ones. Four mornings a week, I woke up at six in the morning, got ready, and biked to the B&B. I flipped on the lobby lights, checked the guest log, and turned on some light music. I went into the kitchen and got out my griddles and toasters. I preheated the oven to 170 degrees, just hot enough to keep plates and food warm. Even now, years later, these steps are seared into my brain as routine. They could call me into work tomorrow morning and I’d be ready to go.

I know what you’re thinking. Who in their right mind leaves a teenager that young alone in a kitchen to handle the breakfast rush by themselves? And, well, the answer is my boss. At first, she always scheduled another employee to work the mornings with me, but it quickly became apparent that there was no need. I was more than capable to set up, cook, serve, and clean, all on my own.

Looking back, I’m in awe that I was able to handle so much, especially at such a young age. But as I continue to get older and gain new responsibilities and apply for different jobs, I realize more and more how vital my first job was to my development. It taught me to juggle many expectations at once. If I could remember and cook three different orders at the same time then, I can remember and do three different tasks for my job now. It taught me to handle and deescalate difficult situations. If I could calm down an elderly woman who was upset at the amount of egg yolk in her egg then, I can calm down an angry client over the phone now. Finally, it taught me that every problem has a solution. I fixed mixed-up orders and wrong coffee creamers then, and I can handle problems with grace even now.

After all, life is just one big Bed and Breakfast.