BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. Ugh. There goes my alarm, I thought. Yesterday we had arrived at Lost Canyon. I had volunteered to be in work crew, and I had honestly forgotten why I had done so. All I remember is that one of my friends had told me it would be fun. So far it had not been fun. We had arrived yesterday, and we had already set up so many tables and we had also received our jobs. I was a server. I wasn’t happy with the job because I wasn’t a people person… especially not in the morning.

The only thing that was on my mind was how much homework was waiting for me at home. I could almost hear it calling my name. I jumped into the shower and got ready to start the day. I was walking so slowly to the dining hall, on purpose. I wanted to be late. Maybe they’ll send me home, I thought. Nope, five minutes later I was standing in the kitchen waiting for us to serve the first meal of the day. Darn...I should’ve walked slower, I said to myself.

“ALL RIGHT GUYS! Can I have your attention!?” A man wearing rainbow colored pants screamed.

Everyone turned to face him, some of us still half asleep.

“Remember to always have a smile on your face and to treat them with respect. Remember that these kids are here because they want to experience the best weekend of their lives!” His voice radiated across the room. How could he have so much energy this early?

“Oh man,” I said.” I don’t think I’m qualified for this job.” We have to pretend to be happy? Great, just great. Another thing to add to my miserable list. I wasn’t very happy about the whole “Get up at six in the morning, to serve others food” idea. I just wanted to get things done so I could go home and start on my homework. I guess I was mad at myself for not getting my work done in the first place.

I heard music playing, and in an instant, I was walking out of the kitchen and into the dining hall. Dozens of smiling faces were looking upon me. All of their smiles made me wonder why they could be so happy to see me? It’s probably because I have their food, I said to myself. Another negative thought, and I was filled with them. I got to my table, put their food on the table, and left. Not even a good morning, or a smile. Nothing. I wasn’t in the mood to act like I was happy when I was not. I came back to check if they wanted anything else every now and then. I heard other servers making conversations with their tables, but I didn’t care.

After breakfast we had to clear the tables and set up for lunch. It was hard labor, and it took a while. Everything had to be perfect. These people are crazy; every table HAD to look the same every little detail counted in their minds. I of course was being lazy and did my work sloppy. I had to show my work to one of my leaders, and she made me do it again.

Once we were finished we had free time, and believe me, I was happy to have had free time. I left with my cousin, who had volunteered as well. We were walking and she said to me,

“Isn’t this awesome? To see all of the smiles on their faces? To know that we’re doing this for a good cause?”

“Yeah…” I whispered.

I felt a bit guilty at that moment. I hadn’t been thinking of the people that were here. In that moment I thought back to when I had come to Lost Canyon, as a camper, and how friendly and enthusiastic my server had been. How kind and humble he was toward my leader and our table. What had I been doing? I had been acting like a jerk this whole time. I was surrounded by a palace of snow, and I looked up to see snowflakes falling down. This was the first time I had ever seen it snow. I realized that my attitude towards the whole thing had been wrong, and I needed to change that, quickly. I looked around and it seemed as though I was awakened by this new feeling.

During lunch time, I made sure that all of my tables were nice and neat. I was ready for this; I was ready to serve people who were here to hear the word of God. I knew that I would be doing well by acting polite and keeping a conversation alive. As the people in my table sat down I gave them a big cheesy smile and asked how their day was going. I kept a conversation with them and came back frequently to see if they needed anything else. I did the same towards dinner time, but at the end of dinner I was surprised to have found all the plates at my tables with little ketchup messages that read: “Thanks! You were great!” Thank you for being our server!!” “You’re amazing” “We love you” That Instantly put a smile on my face. I wasn’t getting paid for doing this and I wasn’t being forced to do it. I did it to help other people out, and I’m glad I did because in my heart I was satisfied with what I had done. I realized that in life we always have to keep a positive attitude about things.