The expectation from my parents when I turned 16 was that I get a job so I could pay for things on my own, such as gas, clothes or going out to eat with friends.

This is the expectation for many other teenagers like me when they turn 16. Not only was I able to earn my own money through having a job, but I was also able to learn responsibility, how to interact with different types of people and to foster a good work ethic.

I applied to work at Chick-fil-A shortly after my 16th birthday because my parents wanted me to follow in the footsteps of my two older siblings, who also worked there when they were teenagers.

After I applied, I went through two interviews where they asked me if I thought I would be able to work in a fast-paced environment and other typical interview questions to determine if I was a good fit for the job.

After getting hired, I went to Walmart and bought some black, nonslip shoes and picked up my uniform, the red polo and black slacks you’re accustomed to seeing Chick-fil-A employees wear.

Shortly after I got my uniform, I went to my first day of work. I walked in and was taken to the manager’s office, where I was given my name tag and paired with another employee who trained me. It was a whole new world for me since I had never seen the back of a fast-food restaurant. It was a fast-paced environment filled with new people and new tasks. Over time, I got used to this environment and was very comfortable in it, but at first, it was all very foreign.

As an introvert, I don’t necessarily enjoy talking to strangers. But I was forced to overcome this pretty fast as I had to interact with customers daily. In the two years I worked there, I grew in my ability to talk to people.

Having a job taught me responsibility in multiple ways, such as time management and the importance of being reliable.

Once, when I had only been working for a couple of months, I forgot to take off one weekend for my high school basketball tournament. Instead of informing my manager that I would not be able to work, I decided the better option would be to just not show up.

I now know that it is unacceptable, but 16-year-old me did not think of it like that. My manager was upset and told me I could not just not show up to work. He taught me that my coworkers relied on me to come to work since I made a commitment to them.

After this, I learned my lesson and managed my time between work, school and basketball much better.

Everyone is bound to have a difficult coworker or manager at a job eventually. In my two years of working at Chick-fil-A, I dealt with multiple challenging situations. One stands out to me, though: It was one of my managers named Angela. She would always find something wrong with people’s work and was overall difficult to work with.

If we had no customers and it was a slow period, employees would have nothing to do, so they would stand and talk with each other. During these times, Angela would try to find busywork for us to do, like stocking or finding random things to clean. Things had to be done a certain way for her. For example, one time she got upset because someone put too many napkins in a customer’s order.

“Two napkins per entrée for every order,” she said.

I would grow frustrated when working with her, but it taught me that not everyone you work with is going to be enjoyable, but you must deal with it.

Having a job and being able to earn money was rewarding because I saw the hours I put in payed off when I got my paycheck. This helped me develop a good work ethic, which is something I still have today and am grateful for.

Working a job during high school may not be the best at times, but it is something I am grateful that I got to experience because of the valuable lessons I gained from it. I think it is something a lot of teenagers should experience because of how much they can grow and learn.