My First Job（我的第一个工作）
As a young ice skater，I had flown pretty high，pretty quickly. My partner and I won the Canadian junior pairs championship when I was 14 and I was thrilled，as a 6-year-old，to be picked to skate in the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer，Norway. But then everything came crashing down.
We finished 12th at the Games. I soon quit doubles skating and tried to continue in singles. But I wasn‘t good enough I didn’t even compete in the nest two national championships. I felt like I was a somebody who had become a nobody.
I was 18 and had just graduated from high school when my mom told me：“You can‘t just count on skating to make a living. You better find a job.”I knew she was right. But what could I do？I’d been an athlete，skating since I waited tables，cleaned，stocked the shop，took inventory；I did everything. In fact，I worked so hard that I never got the chance to even have a break or get off my feet for entire shifts. No one cared that I had been an Olympic skater；I was judged only by how hard I worked. It was exactly what I needed.
That job taught me to so many things. I learned，for example，how to deal with people. As an athlete，I‘d lived in something of a cocoon growing up，so this was new to me. One day a man loudly called me. One day a man loudly called me over to his table and，with a scowl on his face，complained：“This milk is soul. I’m not drinking this junk！I want my money back！”It was near the end of my shift and I was tempted to tell him how rude I thought he was. But I had learned that“the customer is always right‘and a smile can go a long way.
“I‘m really sorry，sir―I’ll get you a free cup，”I said with a wide grin. When I brought him his coffee his whole disposition had changed. And he left me a tip！
My first job taught me that it is important to do the best at anything you try，in school，at work or sport. I knew nothing about being a waitress when I started my job but by the time I left―when I decided to return to skating and to team p with David―I had earned a raise and my boss‘s praisse. The meant so much to me.
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