Experience

Every person on Earth has been told at one point or another "Go out.  Experience something new!" in one form or another.  Whether is the parent simply saying "Go outside and do something." or a commercial saying "Come see the bright lights of Las Vegas." it happens.  And while everyone should strive to go do something they normally wouldn't do whenever the opportunity arrises, these experiences shouldn't always be just fun ones.

This plays into today's topic of experience.  The things you have done within your life that give you skills, knowledge, and have shaped you into who you are.  Whether you want it to or not, your experiences and how you use them in everyday life have an impact on those around you.  I may not be the most traveled and versed man in existence, but I like to think that my experiences between where I've been and the jobs I've held give me an foresight to my actions many lack.

The many skills I've acquired over the years don't necessarily show, and despite my best wishes, many people don't even think I can do half of the stuff I say I can.  And that's fine...many of the skills I have I don't ever want to prove I can do.  But there are others that I have acquired that I feel other people should have, just to make their lives easier on themselves and the people they have to interact with.  How you use your experiences in your life plays into the butterfly effect.  The problem with the butterfly effect is that everyone doesn't have the same experiences, namely the unpleasant ones.  Now I wouldn't wish abusive parents or bullying or even injury on anyone, but one of the unpleasantries everyone can experience is jobs.  Namely first jobs.  Whether you want to be an artist or an archaeologist, a teacher or a tank operator, there are a few jobs that everyone will have to deal with at some point or another, and the skills learned in those jobs can help you be better at just about any job out there.

Because of this, I have come up with three jobs every man or woman should have to do before they can pick their final career path.  The first one is doing 2 years of retail or customer service.  Customer service is a job that a majority of people don't even want to think about doing, yet everyone complains about when they aren't treated to what they believe is perfect at an establishment.  However, so many of  those same people have never had to deal with an angry customer causing a scene because of a simple misplaced price tag, but had to keep a smile on their face.  Or they've never had to try to help a person with little to no English and attempt to make the experience less awkward for both of them.  Or even had to explain the exact same thing to customers for months when the answer is written right in front of them.  There are things that happen in retail and customer service that anyone that hasn't been in that business just doesn't understand.  Customer service teaches you how to put your personal matters aside and wear a smile to get through the day.  It also gives you the perspective to understand that there are times when a crew of five employees can do everything right, but they can't help every customer at the exact minute the customer needs it.  They will get to you eventually, but during busy hours, a team of associates could have to deal with up to 100 customers per hour per person on the shift, plus they have to keep an eye out for people stealing product, keeping the shelves full of product, cleaning the store, and anything else that may arise.  I've worked in retail off and on again since I was 17 and in various different departments.  When I go shopping, the only thing I expect any employee to do is greet me and ask if I need any help.  I usually refuse unless I'm looking for something specific, but if I'm not in a rush and notice the store is busy, I ask them for help in a way that allows them to simply direct me so they can move on.  It's called common courtesy for the profession.

The second job everyone should have to do is a year of food service.  Aside from the obvious extension of customer service you would experience in this field, there is the added bonus of gaining an understanding of protocol that goes into dealing with food.  The cleanliness of your hands and the rest of your body is critical.  At restaurants, finding out how hectic a kitchen can get when the place gets busy, or what happens when an order gets screwed up.  It happens, just like in home kitchens.  Even learning the stress that comes when a server doesn't show up for a shift and everyone has to take on four or five extra tables just so every table is covered.  Food service was my first job, and to be honest, I was terrible at it.  I started out making pizzas at a little family owned place down the street from my high school.  Eventually, they made me bus boy/dish washer/ prep for the place after a few mishaps.  Even a small operation like that showed me that there are dangers, time constraints, procedures, and plenty of small little tasks that everyone is counting on you to do as fast as possible.  It's why when I go to a restaurant now, the first thing I look at is how many servers are working and how busy the place is.  It gives you an idea of how long it's going to take for food.  Busy times can usually mean that you could wait for 20 or even 40 minutes after you order before you are able to dine, regardless of what you order.  The other thing I've learned is that when something is wrong, let the staff know.  They don't know something is wrong if everyone just eats and leaves.  If you think leaving a small tip is showing them something, all they know is that something went wrong with your experience.  Let them know that your meat was under/over cooked, or that you found some less than appetizing lettuce in your salad.  Nine times out of ten it's not going to get anyone fired.  They are small things that happen and they want to know about it.  If it does get someone fired, it's probably not the first time they've done something wrong and they need to be removed from the establishment in order for the entire place to become better.

Finally, the last job everyone should have to do is at least two years of military.  Whether its Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, or even National Guard or Coast Guard, the military is probably the number one job everyone should have to do.  Now, there are some people out there that have a physical or mental condition that prevents them from being able to join.  And that's fine, but most people are just lazy or scared of it.  Joining the military has more benefits than you could imagine, and as a veteran myself, I speak this from the heart.  I hated the military while I was in, but in hind-sight, it was probably the best thing I have ever done.  I joined the Navy at 18 for a few reasons.  The first and foremost was I wanted money for college, and doing four years gave me more than enough to get my degree.  The second was I wanted to see the world.  I mentioned the the beginning of this post that everyone has heard somewhere about going to see new things, and that's what I wanted.  It's why I chose the Navy.  I even chose being forward deployed to ensure that I would get to see as much as possible. The experience was priceless.  The countries and cultures I saw, and learning about them and making friends in various countries.  (Having booze and food I can't get here as well ^.^)  It also taught me respect for differences.  I didn't go into any country expecting them to speak English.  I had to learn in each port ways to communicate with people in taxi-cabs, bars, shops, and even on the street just to know where to go and what to do.  In some places, it was damn near impossible, but I memorized in every country how to at least say "Hello." and "Thank you for your time.  Goodbye." A prime example of this was in Japan, where I was stationed.  I was in town looking for candles.  So I went to the convenience store, where the lady behind the counter attempted to help me the best she could.  However, after five minutes of trying to describe what I wanted to no avail, I finally pulled out a notepad and drew a picture of a birthday cake with some candles, circled the candles and stated "Doko desu ka?"(Where is this?)  Finally, she knew what I was looking for, showed me where they were and we complete the purchase.  After which, I thanked her with a bow and a "Domo arigato gozaimasu." (thank you very much) and proceeded on my way.  The fact that she was nice enough to deal with a person that spoke very little Japanese through to the end is why I thanked her so heart felt.  It's something we lack in America, and I thank the military for giving me the discipline to do that.

Being in the military also forces you to grow up.  You quickly learn that you are not the center of the universe, and that little town you grew up in is not the entire world.  There is so much more out there.  Beauties and dangers in the world that you may never experience again.  And yet, when you start noticing how people live their lives, you realize that wherever you go, its all the same.  The people are all doing the same thing in their daily lives as you did back in your home town.  They wake up, they go to work, the come home, and they sleep.  Somewhere in there they spend time with their family, or spend a few hours playing video games or watching TV.  They go shopping for food and necessities and other things they want just like you do at home.  They may look different, or even dress in clothes you've never seen before, but inside they are the same.

These are not the only experiences I've gone through, and are not the only ones you should look for.  Everything is an experience.  Going to the mall and seeing the kid screaming at his mother about a video game he wants, and the mother doing nothing to stop the scene from happening.  That's an experience.  How will it shape your life?  Will you remember it when your kid screams at you?  Are you going to discipline them, or turn a blind eye?  Maybe you react right there to the scene and show the child and the mother the error of there ways.  Every moment is an experience that should be savored whether it's fun or boring, happy or sad, pleasant or painful.  But it's how you use those experiences to better your life and the lives of those around you that counts.  Remember the butterfly effect.  Anything you do is like a butterfly flapping it's wings, and somewhere in the world it will create a hurricane.  But are you going to let that hurricane be destructive, or are you going to have it bring happiness to someone.