The end of yet another job...
Last night was my last night (haha) working as a bouncer for what used to be my favorite bar on campus. I told them I was leaving two weeks ago and have looked forward to getting more sleep during the week and not being tied to work on weekends. During the week, I simply cannot be getting four hours of sleep in a night and expect to put in an 8 hour day followed by 3 hours of class. It would take many pages to explain everything about this bar, but I had been going there since I was a freshman and fell in love with it immediately. I was obsessed with the fact that I was underage and all of the older football players would provide me with alcohol and cigarettes. It was halfway through last year (my senior year) that I got a job working there.
It is easy to claim to have no regrets, but part of me regrets working there. I feel like I may have missed out on part of my senior year. It is not all negative, however, because I was able to get some of my younger friends into the bar so that they could experience what I did early in my collegiate career. I also got to drink at work, so it was almost like I was being paid to party. When I enjoyed working, it was typically because all of my friends were there, I was a few drinks in, and it wasn't too crowded. There were many nights when I loathed every minute of it, but for whatever reason, decided to stick with working.
I do not regret the things I've learned. I learned a lot about people. There are a lot of different personalities that work there and frequent the establishment. I quickly learned not to take anything for face value. There were some trustworthy employees, but there are a few that aren't. Most were really nice to me. There is a certain comradery that goes along with fellow employees, and I respected that. There were also many good conversations that were had during late night drinking sessions that carried far into the morning. Another thing I learned was how to deal with having a little bit of power.
Most of the time, I had the ability to kick out whoever I wanted for no real reason. I abused this power once or twice, but all it took for me to stop was to think about when I was simply a customer and what I wanted from the bar. I just wanted to have a good time, be loud and obnoxious, dance and sing, and hang out with a bunch of my friends. There are a lot of things that I let slide because I took this mentality. Like I've said in past w/u's, I felt like I was protecting the patrons from the workers most of the time.
Last night was the most fun I've had working in a while. Maybe because I knew I wouldn't be back there ever again, but I was talking with a bunch of friends the whole night, and it never got too crowded. I wasn't even looking for anyone to throw out, I was just enjoying myself because I knew everyone was having a good time. I had a lot of fun watching some of the younger football players dance, sing and drink. They were having a fantastic time, and I was happy for them. For the first time in a little while I felt completely at ease with everything. Anything I was worrying about (school, work, future, etc) just seemed to melt away. It was a really good feeling. I did a lot of reflection on my working experiences and there are a lot of people I'm going to miss from there. The bar manager took me aside later in the night to shake my hand and thank me for all of my help the last few months. I didn't really think I had helped that much, but it felt good to hear it. I just hope that I helped a lot of people have a good time without having to worry about getting into fights or getting too drunk to the point of excess.
I wish I could remember all of the funny stories and memorable moments that happened at the bar, but I guess thus is life. There are certain parts of your life that will end, whilst at the same time open up new opportunities. For me, it means that I will spend my weekends travelling. I have planned many trips in the coming months. I also started coaching a youth football team. I am very excited about coaching and passing on some knowledge and fun of the game. I think I will be a lot happier without the job and be able to do a lot more fun things than stay in the same place every weekend.