Reviewed by Jim Desrosiers

Lucy had been a waitress at Joe’s, a local restaurant, for less than a week and she hated it. The customers were pushy, the boss scary, and getting the orders to the right table was so nerve wracking. She broke out into a cold sweat every time she put a burger plate down in front of someone. Lucy lived in constant fear that some dissatisfied customer who ordered a hamburger would flip out if she accidentally put down a cheeseburger, instead. The fifteen-year-old was so stressed out that she'd been thinking she might quit and spend her summer sitting around or cruising the Mall. She wouldn't make any money if she quit but still, what good is money if you wind up being a nut case?

One night when Lucy was walking home with Molly, a friend from work, she blurted out   “How do you do it? I can't possibly imagine spending one entire summer being a waitress at Joe's...I swear, I think this job is taking years off my life!"

Molly looked at Lucy and smiled. “You think being a waitress there was always easy for me?” she said. “When I first started I was worse then you. Then I remembered something my Dad used to say, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going, try to stay tough, kid, no matter what.’”

“So…” Molly continued, “I realized that all new experiences can be tough…BUT, you never get to the good times if you're not willing to stick the bad times out.”

Two months later, Lucy was still working at the restaurant. She had made great friends, both with other workers and even with some of the customers.  Getting orders straight became second nature to her. She had just needed a little practice.  And, her boss was still a little scary but only in an "I'm the boss, here" sort of way.

Having a job, particularly your first one can be really hard, especially if you have to get used to a lot of things you've never done before. But quitting a job or a responsibility just because it’s not easy or it‘s boring is not the smart way to go.

If Lucy had given up and quit she never would have met such great people, been able to buy the things she wanted, or had the feeling of pride she gets from knowing that she didn't back out. What Molly's father might have said, if he were still around is: QUITTERS NEVER WIN AND WINNERS NEVER QUIT.