It's Showtime!

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

When you think of summer vacation, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Relaxation, I bet, or at least for me. That's exactly what I was looking forward in the final few weeks of my freshman year of college. As much as I enjoyed my first year up at school, I was ready for a break from it all and to just hang home. I don't technically count the winter and spring breaks because neither felt like they were enough, but being home for almost four months over the summer was more than enough. As soon as I finished my final exams, I headed home and looked forward to finally getting some rest and relaxation.

For the first two weeks I was home for in May, I got just that. I was able to "recharge my batteries" so-to-speak and get some stuff done that I hadn't been able to do while up I was at school. Then it came time to find a job. The long-awaited vacation was fun while it lasted, and although my official vacation from school would last another three months, my time at home doing nothing was essentially over. Now, keep in mind that before this past summer, I had never had a real job before. Sure, I've written for websites and done some volunteering here and there over the years, but none of it could be considered a real "job". I never cared enough to get one before, but as any college student would understand, I needed the money. I'm not currently paying any bills or anything like that, but I'm the type of person that hates being dependent and wanted my own money, so applying for a job was the only solution.

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I didn't have much of a preference of where to work, but I figured it'd be cool to send in an application to a movie theater in my town. I didn't think I'd hear back from them, but it was worth a shot. About a week or so later, the manager of the movie theater I applied to gave me a call asking me to come in for an interview. One thing led to another and I was an official employee only days later. At first, there was a nervousness about it, as there is with anything you do for the first time. You just don't want to screw up. But after going in that first day, getting to know everyone and the lowdown of everything, the nerves quickly went away. If anything, the excitement started to set in: I was working at a movie theater!

I, like any other curious individual, wanted to know what the "perks" would be of working at a movie theater. In reading the employee manual, I found out that in working there, I was able to see movies for free (as long as it wasn't during the weekend when it's busy) and get free popcorn and soda, while on and off duty! You won't get those kind of benefits working behind a desk for eight hours a day. Who needs dental when you get to watch movies and eat popcorn all day? Oh wait... In all seriousness, I wasn't working there solely for said perks because, as noted, I was there to do my time (does that make it sound like I was in jail?) and make enough money to go back to school with. But it quickly became more than that.

In having your first job, you learn a lot about responsibility. This day and age, the smallest mistake can get you fired. Granted, some employers are more forgiving than others (my managers were SUPER chill), but all the responsibility falls on you. You have no one to blame but yourself. Does that put pressure on you? Sure, absolutely. But you need to learn to work under pressure. It's what the real world is all about. Not everything is going to go your way in life. If anything, try to find a way that you can thrive under pressure. I, personally, found myself doing better when dealing with long lines and a large amounts of people. There's a likelier chance of screwing up, sure, but if you can do well in that kind of rapid-pace situation, imagine how well you'll do when things aren't as busy.

I also now have a new-found respect for anyone in the workforce. In the three months I worked there, I had my fair share of annoying customers (which I'll elaborate on in a second). The number one thing I learned is that most of the rules aren't made by you, so when the customers complain, most of the time it falls on your manager's or company's shoulders. A lot of customers don't understand that, and more often than not you have to take the blame to avoid making management look bad. Don't put your job in jeopardy. So, keep that in mind when the food at a restaurant you go to isn't to your liking, or the rules at any establishment you visit aren't what you want them to be. Usually, it's not the lesser-paid employees that make the rules. They're just being paid to enforce them.

Now, on to the customers. I can't even tell you how many times I came close to "losing my cool" at a customer because of something that wasn't my fault and entirely theirs, and I worked there for only three months! Imagine how many people like that I would come across had I worked there for a year. I've always been the mindset of treating others the way they've treated me. But that's something you have to leave at the door when you clock in. Not in any situation can you get into an argument with a customer, even if you're in the right. (Just a tip: make sure you're in camera's view so you have proof that you did nothing wrong.) Remain calm with any and all customers for the sake of keeping your job. Don't lose your job over something stupid. Some people will look for the smallest things to complain about, but you have to swallow your pride and deal with it accordingly.

It didn't take long for me to get "burnt out" from working so much. I don't want that to sound like I'm complaining because I really lucked out in getting a job there in a first place and I enjoyed every minute of it, but I quickly came to the realization that I wouldn't have much time, if any time at all to do what I wanted to do if I was going to be working as much as I was for the remainder of the summer. This might have been in addition to the fact I didn't enjoy being home as much as I was and that I was ready to head back to school... by July. It hardly affected my work performance, but I was ten times more tired and frustrated whenever I was home, or just not at work. When you start working, make up a schedule for yourself that you know you won't get exhausted by but you're still making a substantial amount of money you'll be content with.

All in all, I would certainly say that my first job was a success. I was privileged to be working at a movie theater and not anywhere else. I've spent most of my life loving and living at the movies anyway, so why not get paid doing it? It's a win-win! As I mentioned earlier, the perks were absolutely awesome. I got to see Tammy (for better or for worse), Hercules and Guardians of the Galaxy... all for free! It was a pretty sweet summer, if I do say so myself. The best part? I was good enough of an employee that I'm welcome to return whenever I'm home from school. I can also take pride in that all the money I'll be spending this semester is cash I earned myself, not anything I was given. Now that's worth the price of admission alone.