I have been a waitress at a diner for three and a half years. It was my first job and remains the only job I've ever had. Although I admittedly complain about my job more often than I should, it has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life. It is helping me pay my way through school, given me connections and experience and taught me quite a few things about responsibility. I have always thought it should be a requirement that every teenager has to wait tables before entering the adult world and while I'm aware this is an unrealistic idea, I do think there are extremely important lessons that can be learned through being a waiter or waitress.

You have to put in effort to be successful.

One of the first things you learn when entering food service is that some shifts are better than others. Those good shifts include more customers, higher tips, and longer hours, but, not everyone can get those good shifts. In fact, as a newbie, you'll get the less busy shifts and less hours. The good shifts go to those servers who have been there longer and who have worked harder than all the other employees. This truth of the waitress world can be applied to every other job and future career anyone could have. Although it can be frustrating and overwhelming to start at the bottom of the totem pole, it is possible to be successful through putting your best foot forward, always.

People can see through an act.

It is very easy to go into a shift of waiting tables carrying all your burdens from school, home or just everyday stress. However, if you let those negative feelings and thoughts carry onto your facial expressions, tone of voice or attitude in general, customers and fellow employees are going to notice. Obviously, the ultimate goal of serving tables is to get the best tip possible, and if the customer feels that you have a nasty attitude, they are likely to have one back. They have no idea what kinds of situations are causing you to come across so negatively -- all they know is they have been treated poorly by a stranger. The same principle goes for life outside the diner, too. Letting your personal problems affect strangers and those close to you through your negativity isn't fair to them and it can burn bridges before they have even begun to be built.

Everyone has a story.

When I first started working at the diner, I wondered why some people would come to eat dinner alone or why some tables would be friendlier than others. Truth is, every customer that walks through the door has a history full of good and bad experiences, just like I do. So often, people come to eat alone or sit at the counter because they want to talk to someone and tell their story. That customer that may not be so friendly could have had a bad day or could have been having a rough time lately. The point is, that we never truly know why a person is the way they are or why they act the way they do unless they tell us. And there are so many people out there who have no one to tell their story to and are just waiting for someone to ask them.

Waiting tables is what you make it.

Being a waitress can be tough sometimes, but the fun parts usually outweigh the hard parts. It's so important to remember the sweet moments during those tough ones because if you don't you start to hate what you're doing. If you keep your spirits up during those long, hard shifts, then you'll always enjoy the job overall and come away having been blessed by the people you serve and the people you work with. In school, in life, in our families, the experience is what you make it. You have the daily decision to either hate your surroundings or to embrace them. I've tried both and I can honestly say embracing it makes waiting tables and living life a whole lot more enjoyable.