Adjusting to my new job at Chipotle was hard. I never had time for anything that I spent that last 15 years doing. The rest of that summer I worked. I spent the summers before with friends by the pool now I was there working. It was tough because no one there liked me because I wasn’t as experienced as they were. I was also about 3 years younger than the average worker there. I had just turned 16 when most people there were over 20. At first I didn’t fit in. Time went on and I worked more and more. I learned all the “do’s and don’ts”. I learned out to interact with customers and keep them happy. I learned the right ways to clean. I learned all the right ways to do things. I started to see improvements in myself. I got better at my job and began to fit it.

School started and I spent every weekend there while putting in a few days during the week. I closed the stores on Friday then went into open on Saturday. I missed out on a lot. I never went to football games and I missed out on family parties on the weekends. But I loved making my own money the work was hard but it paid off. I was independent and dedicated to the store.

By the Spring I  was close with every single person who worked there. I treated some like brother and sister and others like mom and dad. We are a family. I spent more time with my Chipotle family than my real family or friends. I had created my own community within the restaurant. This job changed my life. By summer I was working every day, I put in a little more than 40 hours every week. I cared more about that place than any other thing in my life. I enjoyed being around people who worked as hard as me.

In just one year from never working at all to working everyday, I learned more than I could ever imagine. I learned how to prepare food, cook food, money management, cashier, and customer service. I learned how to work. Because of Chipotle and all the people who worked with in I’ll always be a hard worker. I understand what it means to be a hard worker and what it takes to accomplish what needs to be done.