You Will Forget

Everyone misses 2016. Me too. Here is a short story (from 2016) about discomfort and McDonald's.

For many reasons, a vast majority of people miss the summer of 2016. I presume it’s because that’s the last time anything really felt real, or normal. The world wasn’t so polarized. Social media wasn’t centered around consumerism and infographics. And there was so much great music released, but that’s all beside my point today.

For me, summer 2016 was great because I finally had access to what most teenagers want: more money. I had just turned 16 and immediately started interviewing for jobs. My church was near a Mcdonald’s and (shocker) the interview was pretty easy, so I got it. (I did not get the Chipotle job. Probably because during my interview, I questioned if Chipotle was really “authentic” Mexican food and told them I didn’t really like eating it...I know.)

Working at McDonald’s was pretty cool. For whatever reason, people that know me in real life are very surprised about the fact that I worked there.

Funny enough, before working there I didn’t eat at McDonald’s. In elementary school, I had a deep admiration for my choir teacher, and he was passionate about McDonalds being terrible for you. That was enough for me. I swore off of it.

This all changed when I worked there of course. And working at Mcdonalds was overall fun for me. The crew was mostly teenagers, the managers were funny and messy, and I got free fries. Ofc it was stressful because they don’t hire enough people but anyway the story is meant to be about what happened to me one day when I was walking home from work.

Since I didn’t have a car, I had to wait for my mom to pick me up usually after work. However, I soon learned that my friend from school lived in the neighborhood by my job. She invited me to come over whenever I needed to. So, when I would work the 6-2pm shift, I’d visit. Sometimes, her siblings could pick me up or even take me home. For whatever reason this day, I decided to just brave the 20-25 mine walk and not ask for a ride. I had not gone to college yet, so that length was a bit long for me, but not too long that I wouldn’t do it.

If you remember, summer 2016 was also one of the hottest summers in history. Terrible. While was walking to her house, I genuinely felt like I was going to pass away. I don’t normally really sweat much, and I actually like the hot weather because I am borderline anemic. I loveee being warm. But this heat was ungodly. I was sweating profusely, and after standing for 8 hours, walking was so painful. I remember just wanting to sit on the side of the road and cry, but I couldn’t because it was too hot and the sun was beaming down, no shade in sight. I was miserable. I was a baby Christian at this time. I’m not sure if I prayed but I remember God speaking some encouragement to me as I was walking: This will be over. This will definitely end, eventually. This is not an infinite moment.

I got there, changed clothes, ate food (s/o to hooyo macaaan <3, ilysm), and talked with my friends. After 20 mins of being inside in the house, right in the middle a laugh something hit me so strongly: remember how miserable you were 30 mins ago? How you wanted to cry and thought you would actually die from exhaustion or heat stroke? Look at you now. Giggling.

I had cooled off so quickly and was in so much of a different mood in less than 40 minutes. I was so comfortable that I was cracking jokes with my friends, full of joy.

And it’s not that the memory of the heat and sweat and exhaustion was completely gone. It had just subsided because it wasn’t true anymore. I had relief. So much relief, that it seemed like I could forget…like maybe it wasn’t really even that bad…suddenly the pain and sweat and tears were so fuzzy.

Such is life. The uncomfortable journey to The Next Thing will end. It’s painful. The long nights. The planning, the studying, the pushing of your limits. You’re doing it all on your own. The end is not yet in sight.

But, if you persist despite the heat, you will get there. You will definitely get there. If you don’t give up. Even if you face delays, even if you sit on the sidewalk in the middle of the beating sun to cry, the journey will not last forever.

And you will forget.

(so, keep going.)

until next time :)