Personal Narrative: My First Job In Food Service

As a child, if someone told me that my first job would be in the food service, I would accuse them of lying. If they told me I would absolutely love it? Impossible, I’d say. It will never happen. Yet here I am, seven months into my first job at a bagel shop. I now work a job I never thought I would have, and it changed me in ways I never thought possible.
Looking back, I remember the morning of my first day:
I started getting ready at eight o’clock. My anxiety rose through the roof as I paced around my room. The same four words ran through my head with increasing distress: this was a mistake. How could I, someone so introverted, so shy, possibly think accepting a job in customer service was a good idea?
Eight fifteen. I forced myself to eat breakfast as I thought of the ways I could fail. I swore I already felt the angry eyes of
The day may have been rough, but I stuck it out. That realization sparked something within me. I gained faith not only in my skill at the moment, but in my ability to improve. I no longer feared mistakes (which I made plenty of) because I knew within was an opportunity to become stronger. With this came a new confidence in myself. I pushed myself to interact and engage with customers. I asked my managers questions instead of holding back for fear of seeming stupid. I grew to love the chaos of a busy Saturday morning and learned the value of stepping up and taking charge. Before long, these changes made their way into the rest of my life. My fear of asking teachers for help diminished. I felt more at ease when presenting to the class and no longer avoided leading group assignments. What I deemed a mistake at eight o’clock that first morning allowed me to grow and become more like the self-assured people I always envied. I think back to that time many years ago when I swore that customer service was something I would never even consider, and I am so thankful I changed my