Being an milkshake addict, when I was first hired at the Nutrition Zone health food shop I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was the perfect job: nothing to dangerous, friendly people, flexible hours, good money, and all the ice cream/ milkshakes I could eat. I was set.

The two days of training before my first shift were a breeze Everything came pretty easily. I memorized the location of all the products and learned how to work the cash register. I even discovered that I even enjoyed making the difficult shakes as well. I thought I was ready for anything.

Then night before my first shift I could barely sleep I was so excited; I woke up the next day ecstatic that finally the moment of truth had come: the first shift of my first job. I left for work fifteen minutes earlier than necessary to make sure I got there on time. When I got to the shop I parked my car and went in, said hello to everyone, washed my hands, put on my outfit, and started helping the first customer.

After about an hour of pretty steady flow of customers there was a lull in the action so my boss decided to go get some lunch, leaving me and my co-worker, by ourselves. Almost immediately after my boss had left, a large group of older women came in to order milkshakes. Being new, I was slightly overwhelmed at the sheer size of the group, but what came next was something I'll never forget.

I walked down to the end of the counter to greet them and to start getting their order. I said Hi! Do you ladies know what you'd like? I asked. The only response was a collective laugh, but then one lady said, "Why are you wearing the funny hat? I told her it was part of my uniform and it mandatory that I wear it. Again they just laughed. Finally, one of them asked for a vanilla milkshake. As I was preparing the milkshake, I felt I was gaining my composure and found the confidence I was missing.

I have to admit I was taken aback, because the presence of the older ladies and they would be very particular. But I decided I needed to just simply do my job. In the end it all turned out alright. The rest of the ladies didn't order anything, and as they made their way to the door, I heaved a sigh of relief.