With the end of the semester fast approaching and summer plans starting to assemble, I decided it was time to get my summer work plans in order.
Finding a summer job for some students may be a stressful and a complicated process but for me it’s pretty simple.
This is probably because I have the best job ever: movie theater concessionist. Yep. That’s right.
The glamourous life of a movie theater employee is one that I have come to know quite well.
This will be my third summer working at The Movies at Meadville, also known as “the best independently owned and locally operated theater in the country.”
There are many aspects to the movie theater employee life that are overlooked by the common movie-goer.
For example, the amount of hard labor and sweat equity put into creating the perfect golden batch of freshly popped popcorn is widely underappreciated by many customers.
No one really wants to spend a hot summer day slaving in front of a thousand-degree kettle, but yet I chose to set my comfort aside in order to provide the people of Meadville with the best popcorn they could ever dream of.
Popping popcorn is not only hard work, but dangerous work as well.
You never know when a wild kernel is going to escape from the kettle to hop onto your innocent, oblivious skin, or travel down into your shirt.
Trust me, having a popcorn kernel pop inside your shirt is not an experience you want to have, and the looks you get from customers as you dance around trying to get it out are not that enjoyable either.
Yes, working at a movie theater is VERY hard work that not all common people can master like I have. It takes a special kind of enthusiasm for snack foods and desire to provide the perfect movie-going experience to be a great concessionist.
They really should make a movie about the underdog heroes of the theater business.
On second thought – maybe not. Perhaps movie theater employment is not as dramatic as I have jokingly made it out to be.
All jokes aside, there is a lot I have learned from my first part-time job at the movies, and there are a lot of great things I’ve gotten out of it.
Working at a movie theater has its obvious perks, like seeing movies for free and having an endless supply of popcorn and soda.
Besides the obvious tangible benefits, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on that I’m very grateful to be a part of.
I’ve made some of my best friends and greatest connections during my time spent mopping soda spills off the floor and putting together cardboard kid combo trays.
There is really no bond like the one you make with your closing helper when it’s midnight and you both just really want to go home, but you know you won’t abandon the other because that’s just how it works. You are movie buddies for life.
Everyone remembers their first job, whether it was a good or bad experience. Although it’s not the most glamourous, I’m thankful for my job at the movies and I’m glad that it’s a place that I can always go back to and feel at home.

OLIVIA BURGER
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