MARION (Cafe Assistant, 2020 - 2022)

Looking back at the last few years, it has really been a blur. I have worked at TSS since January 2020. These two and a half years somewhat mimicked a rollercoaster. As a part of the team, I felt the ups and downs too. Riding through the COVID-19 pandemic with TSS made the experience much more valuable. As we navigated the new world, we navigated our new working environment and our new way of life. This forces our operations to be flexible and our staff to be able to adapt to new regulations. COVID-19 has been tough on our cafe for sure, however, we are grateful to have survived so far.

I have grown a lot working at The Social Space. Working at a cafe tested and honed my abilities to solve problems. It has also definitely trained my multi-tasking abilities. Most importantly, I have grown to be more caring of others. Seeing and understanding how one might understand and execute a task differently from me was a truly eye-opening experience. For example, making a toast for me might be straightforward, but for others, it might not be. It has allowed me to think about others more and how I can be of more help to others. This experience is not something that I expected myself to have when I first started working. But it has made me more self-aware and aware of others in every aspect of my life. It has made me a better person.

I have grown in other ways as well. Like many other university students working part-time, balancing the requirements of work and studying has not been easy. When I first started, the sudden increase in working hours was something that threw me off my balance. I channelled all my energy into working and studying, not having the same amount of time to spend with my friends and family. It took time and it took me constant effort. Though it took a while for me to readjust and rebalance my life. It was still never constant and I was always trying to readjust my responsibilities. Slowly, I became better at managing and planning my time. No one would find working and studying at the same time an easy feat. Of course, having bosses that understand your predicament is important. I was able to take some time off work to study when required and that really helped me along the way.

As I move on to my next phase of life, I have finished my last shift at The Social Space. The friendships and memories I made are not something that I would exchange for and something I am extremely grateful for. This is not a goodbye, but a see you soon because I will be back for good coffee and yummy toast.