Drip

Drop

I let out a sigh of frustration. The sky had begun to darken and the wind was cool and moist. It was about to rain. It was the day I forgot my umbrella and I was going to get soaked. I listened for the sound of the bus coming. It wasn’t here yet and if it didn’t get here soon I was toast. I felt a droplet of rain trickle down my face. The cool wet moisture was actually quite nice considering the building I was working in barely had air conditioning and it was the middle of summer.

The loud sound of the bus coming up to my stop made it to my ears. I stepped in and gave the driver my fare. All of the seats were taken so I stood up front. As the bus propelled forward I look at the beauty of Oakland passing by. Working at Phipps had really given me a new appreciation for nature and all of its beauty.

Phipps was my first job ever. At sixteen, I’d decided it was time for me to grow up a bit, and stop relying on my parents for everything at all times. I signed up for a summer job program and was placed at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and it was the best possible job anyone just starting out could have.

From the moment I walked in everyone was so nice. Nobody ever yelled at me or made me feel unwelcome, and even when I knew I was slacking or giving an attitude, they were patient with me. Jennifer, one of my supervisors, was an upbeat, goofy recent college graduate who was always smiling or making someone else smile. Emily, another one of my supervisors, is possibly one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.

I remember my first day of actual working. Jennifer and Emily usually taught camps for children, but this week they were going to an offsite camp and I was coming along. I’m very socially awkward so the first time was hard for me. I remember awkwardly flashing bright lights under clear container lids filled with worms so that the kids could see inside of them. I didn’t talk or do much, but still Jen was really nice about it.

“Great job, Gloria!” she says with a bright smile “Thanks for helping those kids out”.

The next few weeks were hard, but with the help I had, things became easier. I had started communicating more, I helped with the projects and cleanup and every week I learned little tidbits about nature that I could share with the campers. I would read them books in the beginning of camp which became very popular.

There would be seven children all trying to hand me a book to read them and I’d try to finish them all before play time was over. I’d even read to the whole class during story time which was huge for me because even though they were children, public speaking was still challenging.

One particular day, I was feeling pretty angry, and for the worst reason. Throughout the whole experience, Jen was always so sweet, undoubtedly the nicest person I’d ever known, and I was sure she had to be holding back some sort of frustration or anger toward me and just wasn’t showing it. I was in a mood, and being completely unreasonable.

When the day was over, as I walked outside, Jennifer approached me.

“You know if there’s anything I did to offend you, I’m really sorry.”

I don’t know, at that moment I just felt so terrible because I knew I didn’t deserve it. Every time I was angry for no reason or lazy or irritable Jennifer was never angry. No matter how much negative energy I brought she never let that get her down. It was almost like she never let me get to her.

“What? No, of course not. I’m sorry” I said, feeling ashamed of my behavior.

“No no, don’t be! Your feelings are totally valid!”

The bus was coming up on my stop now and I immediately started to think about how I wanted to be just like her. I was always so angry for no good reason and it was exhausting. It kept me from making any real connections with people because I was always skeptical that they hated me but kept it to themselves. I just wanted to be happy. I wanted to always have a smile on my face and a joke to tell.

From that moment on, I completely changed the way I was acting. What I’m trying to say here is that one person can such a profound effect on you. Just having a bit of patience with someone goes a lot farther than you know, and that summer, having my first job really helped me grow up.

“Sixth and Liberty”

That was my stop. I ducked out of the bus and put my bag over my head. My sneakers slapped against the wet pavement as the rain poured down like crazy and I found myself smiling. I felt new. That job only lasted six weeks, but even though my internship is over, the experiences I had at Phipps will stay with me forever.