What was your worst summer job experience?
I don’t know that mine was terrible, so much as humbling. I spent one summer working as assistant foreman on a landscaping crew for Deerbrook Mall in north Houston. “Assistant foreman” basically meant I was the only person there who spoke both English and Spanish well. It also meant I got to learn how to run a backhoe, which was pretty freakin’ cool. Operating heavy machinery for the first time is a serious power rush.
The biggest thing I learned was that all those “lazy Mexicans” that the local rednecks ranted about were neither lazy nor Mexican. On my crew, they came from all over Central America, and were very proud of their cultural heritage. And lazy? While they did spent a lot of time leaning on their shovels, they still could out-dig me about 2-to-1, and did it on about half as much water as me. Work hard, rest hard. I gained a whole new respect for manual labor.
So what about you? What was your worst summer job experience? Or what’s the worst one you can imagine?
My client BookRix has a new writing contest about “Worst Summer Jobs” starting July 13. Start writing now so you can post your story when the contest opens. Share a fictional or completely true worst summer job tale for your chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Sign up for BookRix if you’re not already, then watch for the Story thread to open in the Battle of Words forum on July 13. You’ll find the rules and instructions in the forum.
Good luck!
Image credit: daveynin