Wishful Wednesday

For the first time ever, I've decided to participate in Kelsey's Wishful Wednesday posting. This week's topic is

"I wish I could go back and spend one day at a job from my youth and it would be at..." THE POOL!

When I was 16 years old, I decided that I wanted to be a LIFEGUARD! I researched online and found a set of qualification classes near my house. Since I never was on the swim team, nor was much of a heavy swimmer (I pretty much did what I needed to to not drown and still look cute...), it was pretty hard! But, after 2 long weeks, I did it! I was officially a lifeguard!
I took a job with awful pay and even worse hours so that I could work at the community pool I had grown up at. It was fun getting to talk to my neighbors and get to know the kids in the community. Some of my good friends also guarded with me, or worked elsewhere in the pool. Getting paid to be in the sunshine didn't hurt much either...

I spent three years lifeguarding at that pool and as much as I complained about it at the time, it was actually a really great experience. It taught me a lot about conflict resolution and picking my battles; lessons I've taken with me to my "grown up" teaching job. By the end of the three years, I was assistant manager of the lifeguard staff, which also taught me some leadership skills! We also did a lot of goofing off with other staff members and certain "pool rat" kids... especially on rainy days!
If I could go back to one of those underpaid, over worked, underappreciated, menial "teenager jobs" lifeguarding would definitely be it!

And don't worry ladies, pics from formal last weekend are coming very soon! But, in the meantime, here's a sneak peek: