Promises

Before I begin I must acknowledge and state for the record that I know I'm not innocent of this. And as I get older and more experienced between working full time and just learning how to be an adult (between balancing online school and work, stuff that many adults do) I learn more and more the weight of words  and promises and how much it hurts and stings when things fall through and promises are broken.

I know that in reality it's not the end of the world when some promises are broken, such as the main focus of why I wrote this. But it's more of the principle rather than the exact event.

For those who may not know, I've been working at a local Jersey Mike's Subs since February 12th, 2020. Since about June 2nd, 2020, I've worked hard and I've proven my capability in handling responsibilities that they made me an "opener" in which I arrive 3 hours before the doors are open for business to prepare the store and set everything up for a good day. It came with a pay raise and eventually got my foot in the door to become Shift Leader/Shift Manager (the terms/titles are similar enough for this line of work). Now I know that I'm not going to be working at Jersey Mike's forever as foodservice and the restaurant industry as a whole is not something for me, but it is where I am now and I know I must just go with the flow as I work to develop myself and carve my way forwards.

At some point during the fall of 2020, I was pushed to doing 5 opening shifts in a row, which was taxing on my body and my mental status as it is early morning work and the shifts are spent entirely on one's feet, save for the lunch break time that gets allotted to me. I do realize that there are other people in this world who work longer shifts, earlier shifts, overnight shifts, etc. that would be more demanding than what I have, but I guess just because someone has it harder than I do doesn't mean I have to discredit the load I perceive. It's all subjective and what one person sees as impossible, someone may see as possible and vice versa.

All throughout the spring of 2021, I was promised that I "won't have to do that many openings during the summer once the college kids come home." And here I am working 4 openings a week for the second consecutive week, during the summer.

Now yeah I understand that 4 is less than 5, but here's the catch: my life has since been added on to with online schooling. Back when I did 5 openings a week, work was the only thing I had going for me. These days, I go to work, I go to the gym (to keep on top of my physical health), and now I have online courses for mental sharpening and to allow a way to something greater than sandwich making. I understand that everything I have now is all a choice. I choose to keep a full-time work status, which I don't necessarily have to do seeing as I am fortunate and blessed enough to be living at home where finances aren't an issue nor a worry. I also choose to spend 3-5 hours a week lifting weights, as that's technically unnecessary, but maintaining a physical well-being is something I want to do and something that'd be good overall (plus one cannot expect me to sell my soul to a workplace I don't see myself being in forever, right?) Then finally I chose to attend and take online courses. No one said that I have to get an education, but it is something I am pursuing as my ticket out of the workplace I occasionally loathe, but otherwise have enjoyed my time.

Maybe I'm just here to gripe. Maybe I just want to vent and to complain (after all that's what this blog was originally for, back when it was titled "Geoff's Unfiltered Thoughts"). But maybe promises mean something more as I was given a certain understanding of how others felt when I broke my end of the promise last year, and now I'm just on the receiving end of someone breaking their promise to me.

I was saying it to my mom that all of this making me open so many days per week during the summer wouldn't really have been that big of a deal if they didn't promise a lighter/lesser workload all along. If they just said "hey, once the college kids come home you'll have more help during the day" that would've been fine and no harm no foul if I kept a similar level of workload. Although, I guess I shouldn't complain all too much as I was given this job without an interview, with no need to view my resume (well, what sparsely filled out excuse I had for a resume since I never worked aside from a minor summer job for my dad for a few years here and there). I've also had a job all throughout this global pandemic whereas many others haven't had a job (at the same time some people were collecting and still are collecting more money in unemployment than I make, so that's unfair) but it kept me busy and gave me something to do other than sit at home with no money to spend for myself.

Some things will never be understood in the moment, but I guess all will work itself out in the end. All I know is that with the time working, I've gained a lot of knowledge and experience with interacting with customers and coworkers, to time management, to being a leader as well. I've also been blessed financially so as to begin saving and preparing for my future, so in hindsight, maybe it's not a bad thing, but in this moment it certainly does suck.