I think out of every single job that I have filed taxes for, the worst that comes to mind was when I was a bartender for a summer. Disclaimer! I’m not going to name the bar, nor will I name my boss. But I absolutely will admit that I learned time management and quickly understood that I was putting too much on my plate.
Let’s rewind to the summer of 2021. I was moving out of a house I shared with a few roommates, working early mornings at Starbucks, saving my money, and showing face at an internship that was far out of my expertise. Let’s safely say that I was spread pretty thin when it came time for friends and being an average 20-year-old kid.
I made some friends in the city and found a really cool hangout spot that they introduced me to. I quickly fell in love with the staff, the vibe, the everything about it. I felt like I was at home with them, and it was a place I felt safe. Despite its dark lighting, loud music, and fruit flies in the air, it felt like another skill I could take on.
In my defense, I was bored with the other jobs that I thought adding something to would be better for me than talking to my managers about having a change in my schedule or something professional like that. Let’s say that I was pretty fresh in the employment world, and I was clearly showing through.
Back to the bar…I told my friends that I was interested in working there, and I thought that I would be a good fit because I was already friends with everyone working there. And a turn of events happened before my eyes. One of the bartenders grabbed the owner, introduced us, and I was hired on the spot.
There was a rise in my confidence when the owner complimented my personality and how quickly I established comfort when talking to anyone. I was friendly, but I didn’t really realize that my personality was something that was an asset in holding a job. I’ve always worked in customer service or food, so it was something that felt natural to me. But I began working a few weeks later, and it turned out to be something that I just couldn’t keep up with, and I struggled a lot with learning how to do everything: making cocktails, ringing in food, keeping the bar clean, serving everyone, and more. I was the worst, and I had no knowledge of what bartending was. But I decided to change my mindset from complaining to asking questions and taking notes.
Learning cocktails became easy for me. It felt like chemistry, like barista work, and I’ve already been a barista for over a year then. I was flipping shakers and learning how to *confidently* show off some tricks. But I’ll admit that I was definitely not someone who knew what they were doing. I was focused on coffee because it was so natural for me.
I ran into a problem when I would close the bar late at night and open at Starbucks in the morning. I never thought exhaustion would hit me like it did. I started oversleeping, coming in late for shifts, and becoming an all around crabby person. I was craving a nap and some time alone, but having four jobs at that time was something that I had to live with. It was something that I needed to manage, and I was struggling.
When I was bartending, I was lazy and slow with my drinks, how I treated people, and a full-on grouch to be around. It was to the point that my boss was asking me questions about whether running the bar at night was something I really even wanted to do, but I stayed loyal to my word and stayed through the summer. There were a few conversations that were more stern, and I think he was being fair with his approaches, but I think that I was just a young kid looking for too much money too quickly. Working was my outlet, but I didn’t have the professionalism to stand up for myself yet.
Eventually, I moved into my own apartment with the money that I saved up from bartending, babysitting, Starbucks, and my internship and signed a lease with my own name on it. I look back and thank myself for the long nights and early mornings, but I also have learned that I am not as capable of everything like I think I am sometimes. Not every skill needs to be learned because some skills are just not meant for me. I’ve come to realize that bartending is quite literally one of those skills.