Apples and Oranges

contraption

I heard a clip of Steve Jobs' now famous commencement speech on Fresh Air the other day.  His words  about doing what you love reminded me of a grocery clerk that I had met when I was a college student.

I was working at a grocery store for the summer. I was getting trained along with a bunch of other college and high school kids. The woman who was training us was probably in her late forties. I don't remember her name but she was very kind and patient with us. She showed us how to use the cash register and scanner. We watched a video on how to bag groceries and we were given instructions on how to enter coupons and food stamps.

At the end of our training she gave a short speech, wishing us luck and letting us know that she would be around if we needed any help. Then she ended the talk by telling us how much she loved her job.

She explained how she loved working with people and being a part of the community. She felt very lucky to be doing something that she loved and wished the same for all of us.

Her little talk didn't have anything to do with our training and seemed unlikely to have much effect on a bunch of kids that probably weren't going to be working at the store past Labor Day.

But, her words have always stuck with me in my pursuit to do what I love.