My First Job

My first job was when I was 12 years old and a dishwasher at Tradewinds Café, my aunt and uncle’s restaurant on Fort Myers Beach, during the summer. My uncle used to swear I broke more dishes than I washed!

They would pick me up from home at 5 a.m.—my least favorite part of the job—since the restaurant’s hours were 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. It was a breakfast-and-lunch diner that attracted mostly locals. I remember thinking I was making big money at $5 per day, but I didn’t spend it. Instead I saved it for a car for my sister. When she turned 16, I loaned her the money, and she had to drive me wherever I asked her to.
 
While I was supposed to stay back in the kitchen, every time my aunt and uncle turned their backs I was out at the counter refilling customers’ coffee cups. Working and talking with the customers was one of my favorite parts of that job. The other was just watching my aunt and uncle cook side-by-side and interact with the customers. It made me really appreciate their relationship.
My family and that first job instilled in me a very good work ethic—to which I attribute my success today.

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