A lot of teenagers in high school or college have part-time jobs; it’s a very common thing. And the types of jobs that are open to those age groups are mostly related to fast food.

I got hired at my first job when I was 17 at a chain pizza place. I was the youngest person working there and at first, I was very uncomfortable. I didn’t try to interact with any of my co-workers on a personal level; I was there to clock in and clock out, which is perfectly fine.

A lot of the customers were very rude most of the time, which was overwhelming. I was intimidated by all the obstacles I had to overcome with each shift, but I needed the paycheck. I hated being known as the "new girl," and it took me forever to get a handle on the hard things that seemed simple at first.

Most of the time, the job sucked, and I would dread each shift; but it’s safe to say that I’ve learned very important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

I can thank my first job for teaching me how to be more patient with people. I wish I could say that I’ve handled every customer complaint (no matter how ridiculous) with grace. I have little patience for people who try to tell me how I should be doing my job or when customers scream their head off because they don’t think their pizza has enough cheese.

Sometimes, I truly wish I could just slap a piece of duct tape over their mouths, but obviously, I can’t do that. With the help of my coworkers and with so far 10 months of experience, I’ve gotten better at dealing with customer complaints (and my attitude has toned down a bit too). I’ve learned how to grit my teeth and do what I need to do to satisfy the customer, no matter how hard it was for me to not want to cuss them out.

I can thank my first job for making me a more sociable person. When I first started working, I didn’t talk to any of my coworkers. I could tell they were all friendly with each other, and I didn’t want to be a part of any of it. But over time, I worked with the same people every day, so inevitably those people have become my friends.

I thank God every day for my work friends, they make getting through each shift so much easier. I don’t have to completely dread going to work every shift because I’ll have my friends there. The more they grew on me, I noticed it was even easier to talk to customers as well. I felt more comfortable around my boss as well, so the pressure of always being the perfect employee around her eventually went away. I became a lot cooler to be around.

So, yes, when you’re a teenager, your first job will most likely suck for a lot of reasons; hell, any job you have will suck for a lot of reasons. But I can thank my first job for teaching me values that will benefit me for the rest of my life.