This summer, I had my first job—I was a lifeguard.
It was a fun experience in many ways, and overall a good first job. There wasn’t much to do there—most of the time, I had just as much time off-duty as I had on duty. But all the same, it taught me something. Here are 3 things my summer job taught me:
1)Some people are easier to talk to than others.
At work, when I wasn’t on stand watching the pool, most of my time was spent sitting in a shack, usually with one other guard.
In the shack, it was easy to do nothing. To pull out my phone and text instead of talking. To doodle aimlessly on one of the papers on the counter, or to talk with one of my friends who showed up at the pool instead of the other guards. But the easiest things to do often aren’t the best things to do.
I knew that it would be much more glorifying to God if I talked with the other teens working with me. So I did—I tried to start conversations with people. And in the process of that, I noticed something.
There were some people who were much easier to talk to than others. These people made me feel comfortable; they acted like they wanted to be talking to me. They were enthusiastic, they made jokes, and they talked to me like I was a friend.
Of course, there was also the opposite. There were people who, when I asked them questions, simply answered “yes” or “no” and looked down at their phones. Those people made jokes and were lighthearted around their friends, so they must have been fun to be around. But they didn’t talk a lot around me.
I don’t know if it was easier to talk to some people because our personalities meshed better, or if I was boring to some of the other guards. But I bet you can guess which people I liked to work with more: I preferred to be around people who it was easier to talk to and made me feel comfortable.
I realized that I want to make people feel like the easy-to-talk-to guards made me feel. I want to make the people I talk to feel comfortable arond me, and I want to show them that I’m genuinely interested in them. I want to be the reason they leave work or school with a smile on their face.
2) I should work to glorify the Lord.
Colossians 4:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” I want to live by that verse.
I had trouble following this verse sometimes at work. It was easy to slack off, as if my job didn’t matter. It was especially tempting to slack off because I hated blowing the whistle at people. I would rather let them get away with breaking the rules, but I knew it was my job to enforce the rules.
Colossians 4:23 encouraged me to stay alert and proactive. To blow my whistle loudly—at first I had a problem with blowing it too quietly and kids couldn’t hear it. To talk clearly and in a relaxed way—at first, I would get really nervous when I blew the whistle and I would talk so quickly that people couldn’t understand me.
I knew it would better glorify God if I did my job well. That meant holding kids accountable when they broke the rules, and informing them of those rules. That meant fighting the temptation to close my eyes on stand when I was really tired. I wanted to work as if the Lord was my boss.
3) It takes effort to start a conversation with someone.
This isn’t a new realization—it’s common sense that you have to try if you want to have a conversation with someone. If one of the guards in the shack didn’t take initiative and start a conversation, we would end up scrolling on our phones the whole shift.
Sometimes, I would get frustrated if the guard I was working with wasn’t starting a conversation—but it was my job just as much as theirs.
On the days when I didn’t get to talk to the other guards a lot, I felt drained when I got home from work. But on the days when I talked to the other guards, and they helped keep up the conversation, I felt happy when I got home from work and was excited to return for my next shift.
Starting a conversation wasn’t always natural. I tried to ask people questions about themselves or comment about things going on at the pool. I’m still learning to push myself in many ways socially.
Even if a conversation died out, I decided it was better than remaining silent the whole time. I forced myself to try to connect with the other guards. It made it a lot easier when I was in a conversation with three people.
This summer, my job pushed me in a lot of ways and taught me some valuable lessons. There are people who are easier to talk to than others, and I want to be one of those people. I should work hard, as if I am working for the Lord in all that I do. And, finally, I should make the effort to start a conversation with people.
Do you have a job? What did you learn from your summer?