Sometimes Involvement Fairs Ruin Everything....

The first day. Three words that I was terrified of before I even knew what day or shift I was working. For 12 days I was prepped and given the tools to run this place called The RutgersZone. Even though I wasn’t doing the whole thing by myself, it was still scary. My fear really stemmed from the fact that I hate messing up. These feelings were unpractical because messing up in a new place is inevitable.

My first day was the opening shift. I was all ready to go and open the Zone, when I see cameras filming inside the space. It was weird because it was unexpected. A Rutgers organization was filming a segment in the Zone with a bunch of student actors who were drinking and playing games. It was kind of cool because I thought “Hey, this is our goal. This is what we want this place to look like on a daily basis.”

After the cameras and students left I began the procedures of opening. It was really easy since a lot of steps were already done for me. I mainly had to set up all the things behind the bar and in the wash room. Honestly the entire time I was telling myself to remember everything I was taught and to not mess up in front of Ferg. It’s not like Ferg is a scary guy who would yell at me if I made one mistake, but I wanted him to know that I actually learned during those long training days. But like I said before, it is inevitable to make mistakes on the first day, and I won’t list what I did wrong, but they were minor things that I learned from and stored away for future reference.

Everything is in order. Sinks are filled with the proper solution, we have the three Dons (cleaning buckets) in place, and the ice cream is ready for scooping. Only one thing was missing. Customers. Now it’s understandable that we didn’t have many customers my first day. People around campus were still adjusting to their new “homes” and going to the involvement fair. Playing funs games and eating delicious ice cream wasn’t on their agendas quite yet. So that day I made a few cones, sold some tokens, and welcomed people to the RutgersZone when they walked in.

My fears faded away slowly with each minute that I felt more comfortable behind the counter. Then 4 o’clock came along and it was time for me to do an end of shift report. And then begins my panicking heart and reenters Phylisha who is mistake phobic. I paid careful attention to everything I did, making sure that I only took the money that I was supposed to and left the appropriate amount in our “bank.”
All in all it was a day filled with experience and learning, but also with worry that will fade away eventually.


Phylisha =)