My early life so far has been filled with ups, downs, twists and everything inbetween. My life has been so short, but yet, I feel as if I’ve been on a never ending journey. I’ve developed into someone I’ve always wanted to be, someone who accomplishes their own goals and wants to do the best with their life. One particular event in my life has made me feel so grown up and matured (even though I have a lot more maturing to do) was getting my first job. Although life is so great, it costs so much, mentally, physically and economically....                                                    

I stepped out of my moms car, it felt as if millions of butterflies were flying all around in my stomach. I stepped out of the car to feel the cooling wind of fall brush my hair. I had my blue shirt on, with black pants. I had my nametag on which read, “Dylan, Hi I’m new to the team.” It was so much different walking into the grocery store, everything seemed to have changed. I then proceeded to walk to the machine that I used to check into work, right next to the break lounge. I punched in, and it was now my first day on the job… I felt so much different from yesterday, as if I had almost “grown up”. I looked the same as yesterday, I still had my bushy black hair, I was still short, but for some reason, I felt as if I portrayed an older figure. I thought that I had all of a sudden grown taller, I felt like I had a mustache or facial hair, I felt my voice had gotten . Quite recently in my life I had started to feel so much older. All these responsibilities made me feel much closer to adulthood. Sometimes it really stinks to feel this way, but sometimes it can make you into a great individual. I then proceeded to the customer service desk, there I talked to the manager to begin my in-store/onsite training.

I was assigned to train with a senior in highschool that worked at the store, his name was Cameron. The customer service desk called him down, and we then met one another formally. I felt so awkward, because I honestly look a lot younger than I actually am, and I’m very short so he towered over me. Cameron was tall, probably over six feet. He had black shaggy hair which needed a haircut, and he was just an average sized body. It almost felt as if I was looking into a mirror that would dictate how I look in the future… Kids in high school these days don’t really care about kids who are younger, they tend to resent younger kids, which has always irritated me. I thought he was going to pull one of the old “freshman” jokes out on me, because I had told him I was in 9th grade when he asked me how old I was. As it turns out he actually had a lot of respect for me. I assumed it was because I had gotten a job so early, and he thought of me as very mature for my age.

After the introduction we proceeded with the rest of training. Most of it was self explanatory such as bagging and bringing in carts (which is the majority of what I do), and he showed me how to clean and empty the bottle return machines, along with getting cleaner in the back of the store. Bagging was easy, and honestly the most boring thing to do at the store, but sadly it is 80% of what I do. It was easy work, all I had to do was sort products by characteristics, and bag them accordingly. Then there were self explanatory rules like not putting a rotisserie in the same bag as ice cream, or not to put cleaning supplies. It was so easy a kid could do it.  Next he showed me how to push in carts (which is again self explanatory) we both had put on a bright neon orange colored safety vests, they looked like big oversized capes that draped over our bodies. I resented the vest, most of the time it just got in the way. The only purpose of this process was for Cameron to show me how to use a ratchet strap which again, was a pretty self explanatory task. We went outside, I still felt so much older than I did yesterday. A light, crisp cold stung my skin. He demonstrated how to work a ratchet strap. All I had to do was attach the two hooks on each end of the carts, and hank the ratchet strap as hard as I could to tighten the carts. It was easy work, many of the employees there apparently resented it, which it was Cameron had conveyed to me. The next thing that Cameron did, is he showed me the back of the store, which is where, if I was asked to, I would go to restock on bags and cleaner for the store. We proceeded to walk through this giant, draped black curtains almost that lead into a hidden away “underworld.” It was such a weird looking place, it looked almost like a prison, but yet it was like an adventure being back there. There were fences up high that looked to have different products stashed inside them. It portrayed an image like food was being stashed in jail cells, which honestly made me chuckle to myself. Cameron then proceeded to show me how to use the compactor for the stores cardboard, and he showed me exactly where I could find more bags, and wine boxes for customers purchasing large quantities of wine. This looked like a giant wall of cardboard, I felt like there would be some strange world on the other side of this towering wall. Those were those my thoughts while I was in the back of the store, and the thought of this being an adventure made me feel more like a child than a mature teen like I thought I was. It was such a contradicting pair of thoughts. I left the back of the store, returned to Cameron with the bottles of cleaner, and I thought so confused. Confused with the feelings going on inside of me.

We then finished off the day with bagging which was easy to say the least. Cameron had to watch me the whole time which made me feel even more like a kid, when really this is what they are required to do with every new employee regardless of age. After my shift I left work relieved that I could go home and relax. I just wanted to get home and take my work clothes off. After peeling all of my work clothes off, and putting my casual night attire on, it felt like all of my maturity had been stripped away. I looked in the mirror, I had no mustache or beard, my face was as clear as they come, and I still “towered” at four feet, eleven inches. I still portrayed a child image, and at that moment I felt I was a child...