When it comes to work, I am very passionate, committed, and hard working. My father instilled in me the importance of putting effort in doing work and loving that work. I started working as a Student Assistant for the Hospitality Services in my university. I am currently a cashier, but I also make some shakes, clean the place where I work, and provide quality service to customers. Certainly, there are things that I came to realize while working as a student assistant (especially being in the Hospitality Services).

1. Being behind the counter/register is difficult. Now I know what cashiers/servers feel! Kudos to them who are having problems while still keeping it together at work. It is hard to smile in front of others knowing that you are not okay. It is hard to pretend that you are happy when you are facing something really difficult in life.
2. Always learn from your mistakes.When I started, I was so afraid to make mistakes. I was afraid that I will get reprimanded if I made too many voids in my register. I was afraid of not doing things right. I made mistakes at work that I actually learned from them. I am grateful to have managers who do not yell at me or embarrass me in front of other people every time I did something wrong (like not putting milk while making a hot chocolate). Learning from those mistakes made me feel that I am more capable of doing the work and that my managers can depend on me.
3. Be good friends with your co-workers.It’s great to have friends and it’s great to have good friends at work. When it’s not busy anymore and we are doing some light work, my coworkers and I would joke around that we would laugh together. We would talk about how great different cultures are and how there are still nice people out there. We would share funny or sad stories to each other. We would talk about our classes and assignments that we need to do. Simply put, being good friends with your co-workers makes your job worthwhile (and really fun!).
4. Communicate well with your supervisor/manager.Some of us may have a tendency to be shy or be intimidated by our managers. I honestly felt the same way at first. However, as each day passed, I was able to get to know my managers more that I respected them and somewhat see them as my older sisters, who guides me. Communicating with them is a must especially when you have something that you need to do. It is better to notify them early than do a last-minute stunt that may affect your job. Of course, be honest with them when you talk to them.
5. Expect the unexpected.I say this because every single day at work is different for me. There are times when my register goes offline that it takes forever for it to process the transaction and panicking is definitely a no-no. There are moments when you might be asked to do something that you did not expect to do. Then there are people who will try to push your buttons that as long as you are doing your job right, everything will be okay (unless they are harassing you, then you need to report it).
6. Patience is highly important.This is essential especially when you are in the field of customer service where you will meet a variety of personalities. Some customers can be very rude that you can be a bit annoyed. I don’t really agree with the idea of “The customer is always right” because I believe that everyone should be treated kindly and we that should be kind to others. Moreover, your co-workers may come off irritating but you have to be patient and understanding that you try to put yourself in their shoes.

There may be other things that I will realize later on as I continue to work in this field and I know that throughout this experience, I will bring this with me forever.

Featured image: Union Plaza, SUB, Texas Tech University by http://www.robertsuddarth.com