I went to dinner last year with a couple friends. Our restaurant choice was Livery, which I loved because as someone who is very indecisive I like to know my order. I knew I was getting the steak. Our waiter was nice and friendly. She immediately introduced herself as Q, and told us she would be helping us out that day. Now I knew two things: I knew I would be getting the steak, and I knew she would be helping us. I had no idea how much.
We began chatting with Q, and while she stood above us and spoke, she might as well have been sitting at the table (which we offered, but she laughed and said “I have to do my job”). We talked about everything: friends, majors, hometowns, and it felt like we were talking to an old friend. The learning began when Q shared her own story, which was moving beyond words.
Q went through a loss at 17, and she was left wondering what to do without the person who normally showed her the way. She ended up going to college to become a nurse. Quickly, Q took inventory of whether or not she was really happy. When she realized she was not, she made a change, and started serving at restaurants. She told us that her nursing degree was not a waste; she said, “This is still nursing, it just looks different.” I looked around at all the tables and pictured hospital rooms, and really, it is not much different. She goes from place to place to check in on people. If they need something — whether it be ketchup, or that inspirational push they might need to change their lives — Q takes inventory of what is missing, and provides what is needed, as any good nurse does.
I was sad when I saw the Livery was closing due to the pandemic, and my first thought was Q, “Will she be okay?” I knew there were plenty of people whose lives she had touched. I knew it was much more than a job to her. So, I was immensely relieved to know that she was working in the same place at what is now Bru Burger.
She came over to our table last night and told us she would be waiting on us. Immediately we were so excited knowing that we had much to catch up on. I told Q that over quarantine I reflected upon, as I had told her last year, how much I missed writing as a pre-med major. I told her it was the thing in life I loved most, and that I would love a future that included it. “So, why don’t you write?” she said. I was excited to let her know that now, I am. She teared up and told me how happy she was. She explained that if people ordered in life how they ordered off a menu, they would be a lot happier. “It’s like ordering a burger,” she said, “You take what you want, you remove what you don’t. If you don’t want onions, ask for them without. And never ask someone else what you should order.” She pointed to my friend and said, “because what she eats is gonna make you shit.”
And, she is right. What I have learned from Q is that in life, we cannot live the lives that other people envision for us. We have to live the ones that align with who we are. That is the only way we will ever be happy.
So, go to Bru Burger. Ask for Q. And, if you’re having trouble ordering — a burger or a life path — I’m sure she’ll help you with the menu.