People are like one of our special favorites on the Rita's menu: The 5-Layered Gelati.

It consists of your choice of custard on the bottom. This could be vanilla, chocolate, or twist. Next, comes any flavor of Rita's italian ice flavor. There are a variety of flavors to choose from: mango, cotton candy, lemon, cookie dough, and many more! One more layer of custard comes above your ice flavor and then you can pick either the same ice flavor or a different one. To top it off, there is custard on top! Now, so how are people like this 5-Layered Gelati.

Well, this gelati is all based on the very first custard layer in the cup. It doesn't matter if the rest of the layers are in the cup because if there is too much of custard on the bottom of the cup or too little then you begin to question the quality of the Gelati. You begin to question who you are as a person, what you purpose truly is. I am saying this to not only compare people's characteristics to a loved food item, but because my own personal growth story started with The 5-Layered Gelati. Specifically, it started with me working at my summer job, Rita's.

I started working at Rita's at the end of my junior year, metaphorically speaking, I was a weirdly shaped unbalanced Gelati. My contents consisted of very light self-doubt custard at the bottom, uncertainty amount of ice and custard layers, and a loss of direction in life. To top this all off, I was served by the same nervous hands that flailed around whenever I talked. Despite all of this, I still loved meeting new people and working where there was a lot of customer interaction. I followed the directions very carely and well. I picked up my slack during shifts, and genuinely enjoyed the coworkers with me. However, at the end of every shift, I was mentally exhausted. Inside, all my contents were messed up. The person I was becoming at work - the one who handled the stress like a pro, the one who had the answers to all the questions of the customers - was not the same person in my life.

My boss, a tough-love kind of man that would literally do anything for anyone, saw right through me. He realized that what I needed was a push in the right direction and a little bit of encouragement. He started to throw many challenges my way in order to address the very issues that had been dictating my whole life. I was very skeptical at first, because I was set in my old way of thinking. Slowly slowly, I became the new individual with the proper layers that made sense. By challenging me to act as a manager during the shift, made me give directions and find the lost confidence in myself.

This gave me the courage in school to finally start speaking up. Instead of feeling like my words carried no worth, I became more eager to participate in class seminars and debates. By urging me to becoming more open and expressing my feelings, I finally felt like my voice was being heard and actually carried worth. I became more accepting and understanding of the world around me. I made sure that I let people know how much they mean to me. My boss also stressed the importance of understanding one's own limits. This helped me learn the value of pushing away my pride in order to take a break.

While writing this article, I find it riveting that I am no longer the same person I was a year ago. I am a fully 5-layered Gelati with the exact confidence measurements of each custard with two of the best flavors: mango and cotton candy, determination, and serving of self-worth.