Do you remember your first job?

Maybe you were scooping ice cream, the sweet, sticky smell on your clothes well after your shift ended. Maybe you were flipping burgers like my Uncle did. Maybe you were a babysitter, a lawn mower, a lifeguard, the person endlessly refolding sweaters at the mall, or, like me, a dishwasher at a summer camp. Remember the nerves, the excitement, and the thrill of that first, crinkled paycheck that was all yours? It was a rite of passage. A first taste of real responsibility.

My 14-year-old sister recently joined these ranks. Her first job is as a soccer referee for Woodland Park Parks and Rec. She is making her money this fall with a whistle in her mouth and can be found many days over at Meadow Wood along with so many others amidst the falling aspen leaves. She wears a bright green shirt that’s a size too big for her. I helped her shrink it down with a hair tie and a safety pin. The shirt makes her look official despite her young age.

While first jobs can be described with many different words, I want to focus on learning.

Learning defines first jobs. And with learning goes mistakes. My sister was reminded about all of her mistakes after her first game when a coach decided to skip the learning curve and cornered her on the field to detail a list of her perceived failures and missed calls.

She had to smile and walk away.

The lesson for us all is this. While in the moment, a game between 3rd and 4th grade co-eds can feel really important, it just isn’t. Parks and Rec keeps no official score, has no standings, no playoffs and no scholarships are on the line. The final score is forgotten before the players have gone through the parent tunnel and finished their snacks.

And for good reason. The point of it is to run around and have fun.

When we get caught up in the moment, it’s easy to forget that we were all beginners once. We forget the nervous teenager we once were, and assume (incorrectly) that others aren’t trying their best.

The real stakes on the field have nothing to do with the score. It’s really about what we teach each other regarding grace, patience, and perspective. In doing so, we can avoid being the reason a teenager dreads their first job. It’s a chance to remember the person we were and to become the adult we needed them to be back then.

Ruth Wiseman is a Woodland Park native and a dual-enrolled high school student attending Pikes Peak State College