This I Believe- Hailey L.
I believe in bonding with strangers. You might have always been told ‘stranger danger’, but when you start school, you are forced into a room full of strangers and expected to talk to them and make friends with them. Later in life, you are probably about sixteen years old and thrown into another place full of strangers at work. This time, you can not ignore them or your job will not be done correctly. You must talk to managers, supervisors, coworkers, and customers.
When I was sixteen I applied for a job on the turnpike travel plaza on the north. I was informed that due to my aunt being a supervisor I would be placed on the south side at Popeye’s. I was supposed to ask for Dana when I got there to figure out my hours and give her the papers she needed. Shy and intimidated by the crowd, I quietly asked the attractive Pizza Hut cashier if he could get Dana. Unfortunately, he didn’t hear me because it was always very loud so I had to repeat it louder, making me more uncomfortable. He finally understood what I was saying. He told me to grab a drink while handing me a cup and to go find a seat while I waited. Thanking him, I walked away.
I got the job and was so excited to finally be making money and doing something in my free time. It was about two weeks in when a supervisor said I was going to be closing prep. Prep is a solitary job and I had no training at all. The guy from Pizza Hut saw me looking desperately at him and came to ask if I needed help. Based on my judgment of others who worked there, he was one of the nicest coworkers I had. As the weeks went on, I needed less help but that didn’t stop him from trying to be around me. I considered us friends, we didn’t talk a whole lot outside of work and when we did it was about work, but we had gotten to know each other pretty well. He started going on break when I did and he would always sit with me and try to get me to eat. I would work until 11 and I almost never ate. As we grew even closer, he thought it would be a good idea to take a handful of flour and toss it right at me. Being as it is a light powder it spread out, missed my face, and went down my shirt. I dipped my hand in flour and put a nice print on his back as he walked to BK. He didn’t think that was so funny anymore. I, however, thought it was hilarious. I helped him close a few times as I got good at closing Popeye’s faster than before. If one got done before the other on a certain night, we would stay and wait for the other to be done. We often walked out together and clocked in together as well.
While you are young, ‘stranger danger’ might be a good way to teach you that some people can be bad, but not all. When you get older, however, I believe you should always try to bond with those around you. You might make some great friends while you’re at it.
