Thursday, June 25, 2009

Hollywood Cliche

I'm living the Hollywood cliche -a waitress that longs to be a writer. When I was trying to decide what to name this blog, I thought about "From the Mind of your Lowly Waitress"-- not because I feel servers are "lowly" but because they can certainly be treated like they are. Another name I was going to call it was"Waiting for Life" because it would seem those that are serving are waiting for life to come and bite them in the ass. Many don't feel that waiting tables is "it." They started waiting tables while they: went back to school or decided what they really wanted to do with their life or while they waited for something better to come along. I understand. It's easy to get stuck, good money, cash in your pocket, not stuck behind a desk, there are alot of perks.

I know what it is to feel like, I'm "just a waitress" when people ask, "What do you do for a living?" I usually follow up with "But, my passion is writing and I'm working on a screenplay....etc...) What do we care what the guy next to us thinks about our job? Nothing is good or bad, it's only the labels and the way we've decided to perceive them. I recently had a good friend of mine get fired from the restaurant. It was a blessing in disguise as most things we think are "the worst thing that could happen" when it was acutally just what she needed. (It always is) She was not a happy server. She wanted out, but didn't have a shovel. She would've stayed there forever. This was the kick in the butt she needed - now she plans to go back to school and pursue her real dreams! I'm so excited for her.

Life- isn't it really all about perspective? Sure we are servers - but without us there would be no restaurants, without servers there would be no place for people to come and enjoy the long loved tradition of eating together and enjoying eachother. People have all sorts of jobs, auto mechanic, executive, gas station attendant, stay at home mothers, business owner. Why do some hold a higher prestige than others? I'm hear to bash the "I'm just a waitress" or "I'm just" anything at all, you are not your job. You are an amazing infinite being! You don't need to define yourself by a title. Yes, I'm a waitress. I'm also a wife, mother, sister, friend, Account Executive, a writer, a dreamer, a taxi driver, I'm not just one thing and I'm proud of all things. My grandmother retired from waitressing. She loved it and loves to share her stories of how she took care of her customers, her friends. Take pride in what you do, whatever it is you do, do it the best you can, You're not "just" anything, your YOU and that is enough. That is amazing!

1 comment:

  1. Dearest Flo, I could not agree with you more, you are the reason I stayed up late nights watching Mel's Diner. Life is a restaurant. A good waitress is like a guardian angel. Sometimes all we need is a place to go for sustenance; food, conversation, friendship, some who will listen to us bitch while we enjoy a hot meal. Everyone on the planet should have to be a waiter or waitress for at least one year of their life, it would make world peace possible. You are indeed "all of the above", thank you for your service. As for the readers of your blog, if you find yourself where you are in your life and you have not "waited" you've missed out and should go volunteer at a soup kitchen to make up for your short comings! All the best, JB

    ReplyDelete