lesson 14
my first job-the maid
i was studying theater at southern methodist university in dallas and feeling anxious and uncertain about my future. will i be able to support myself? i wondered. that summer, i decided to if i could get out on my own.
two girlfriends and i piled into a car and headed to aspen, colo., where i found a job as a maid at a resort hotel. i don't remember what i earned, but it was so little that i lived on spaghetti, brown rice and kool-aid.
i was at the hotel by six o'clock every morning to help with continental breakfast. when breakfast was finished, i cleaned the room where it was served and then the conference rooms and lobby rest rooms. i had never been in a men's room before, and i was always terrified of someone walking in while i was on my knees scrubbing the floors and toilets.
i came from an upper-middle-class background, and my parents' friends always treated me well. but now that i was a servant, i found that many of the guests of the same background were not so nice. that was a shock.
people were supposed to serve themselves at the continental breakfast; it was my job to circulate through the room and replenish coffee and juice. but some people wanted me to do everything for them. i remember one man who kept ordering me to get his food and demanding things we did not serve. he was also very critical. even though i wanted to say, “go, get it yourself,” i knew it was my job to be quiet and do in a nice way whatever i was told. so i'd take a deep breath and somehow get what he wanted.
still, i've never forgotten how it felt to be spoken to so rudely.today,whenever i am in a cab or being waited on, i always try to be as considerate as possible. service-industry jobs are not easy, and they're even harder when people treat you like dirt.
my first job also helped me achieve more confidence. after that summer i realized that what i had been afraid of in acting was failure. i now knew what the worst thing would be if i failed at it without really trying. i decided to give it all my energy. if i failed, at least i would always know that i had done my best.