When I decided to seek employment with Starbucks I knew I was making a decision. I was choosing to accept my station in life. I wasn’t able to get adequate employment sufficient to pay for my needs as well as my transition related healthcare costs. So I decided to buckle down.
This isn’t the first time I have taken a job in the food service industry. I spent many years working as a delivery driver for various pizza chains. I worked multiple Dominoes, Pizza Hutt, Papa Johns and Little Caesars jobs. Mostly I stuck with delivery because I was afraid of people in the past. I felt my social anxiety would get the best of me and most times it did.
I could barely muster the words to deliver a pizza most days. If the customer went off script I was lost. Since working in the news field I learned how to think quickly in my feet. I now have developed the customer service skills necessary to accept a front line service job. Of course this doesn’t mean I want to make this my primary source of income. If I find myself in a situation where I have to depend on working for a coffee shop I might not last long.
I don’t want to sound ungrateful, on the contrary I am super excited for this opportunity. Not just because the money will go a long ways in lifting me up. There is also the benefit of if I make it work I can get my transition costs covered and that’s a big deal for me. Plus as a side bonus I get to work for a company that actually goes out of its way to let people know it is LGBT affirming. That alone means the world to me right now.
I am not sure what this next chapter of my life will look like. I suspect I will grow tired of juggling two jobs while simultaneously enjoying the two incomes. I know I will have to make adjustments to my schedule to make room for the important people in my life. I am not yet certain what that will look like but I know one thing is for sure, I am absolutely resilient. I will get through this. I will rise to the challenge and when the time comes I will come out on the other side a better person. That’s my promise to you. That’s my goal in this life, to keep moving forward.
Stephanie Bri 