Reflecting on my experience at McDonalds has made me realize that I’ve made incredible relationships with my fellow co-workers. 

The environment of the McDonalds food prep station brings out this unexplainable urge for me to talk to my co-workers and even managers about my hectic life. 

We talk for hours about our lives, our childhoods, our memories.

My mindset going into this job just six months ago was, “I will never see these people outside the workplace. I might as well not even talk to them.”

Which I did for the first month or so.

I was the person who kept their head down and would only talk to customers and occasionally the manager who I joked around with.

Initially I was taught service, handing food out to customers, taking orders, and occasionally taking managerial positions for a few hours. But, I always envied the kitchen staff when I started; they all seemed so close and laid-back.

Being on the service team is an entirely different environment than the kitchen. I’m not allowed to talk to many people other than the customers and a few people who are training and helping me along the way.

But, once I take one step into the kitchen area, the whole atmosphere changes; I feel all the stress lift off my shoulders.

Once I finally learned how to assemble the food, I was placed in the kitchen very frequently and I absolutely loved it back there.

Instantly, I connected with Megan. She acted like an older sister to me. I would tell her about my day, what was going on at school, and even details of my personal life. She quickly became a close confidant for me at work.

I would look forward to working with her all day. When we worked together it seemed like time sped up, as if it was over in a heartbeat.

After Megan quit, I began working with someone I never spoke to: Taco. 

As if I couldn’t control what I was saying when I first was introduced to him, I immediately blurted out, “Taco… that can’t be your real name.” He was so quiet I thought I completely soiled his opinion of me. Seconds later, he just laughed and said, “Yeah I hear that a lot.”

Which was the start of another amazing friendship.

Throughout the more recent months I’ve worked at McDonalds, I’ve made connections with a lot of other people and formed lasting friendships, which I’m so grateful for. 

I blossomed from the quiet person who never talked to the person who gets along with everyone and somehow has inside jokes with almost every one.

I never thought that my first job would allow me to meet so many extraordinary people. I might not have what most people would say is the classiest job, but the connections I’ve made makes it all worth it.