Trial by clipboard

Standing in front of my bedroom mirror at 7:15am, adjusting my campus rec polo for the fifth time.

Trial by clipboard

Today marks my first official shift without a supervisor hovering nearby. No more training wheels, no more “let me show you one more time” safety net.

Jake made coffee extra strong this morning without me even asking. He knows. The man has learned to read my pre-work anxiety like a weather forecast.

Last-minute prep mode activated.

Grabbed my water bottle, keys, and the small notebook where I’ve been scribbling down every procedure and protocol for the past two weeks.

The thing nobody warns you about when you start a new job is how your brain suddenly forgets everything you definitely knew yesterday. I’ve checked people into the gym dozens of times during training, but somehow this morning I’m second-guessing whether I remember the membership lookup system. Spoiler alert: I do. But tell that to my nervous stomach.

Four hours later, I’m back home and officially a real campus rec employee. Survived my first solo shift, helped three students sign up for intramural volleyball, and only had to radio for backup once when the weight room speakers started making that weird static noise. Small victories taste surprisingly sweet when you’re measuring success in “nobody yelled at me today.”