Blog #8-Braaksma

In Andrew Braaksma’s essay Some Lessons from the Assembly Line he illustrates his experiences as a part-time assembly worker between college semesters. He learns that he should be more grateful when it comes to having the privileges of attending college. Braaksma took his education for granted, until he was faced with lay-offs at the factory. He seen the effects it had on the older co-workers, and was given great advice from his co-worker to study hard and keep reading. He then realized how lucky he was to an education. As a college student, I can relate to Braaksma’s lesson because I learned the same lesson when I volunteered to help my school run a food booth and do food-prep for the ZinFest.

            I had never worked in a kitchen before I volunteered to help my school with food-prep for the Zin Wine Festival in Lodi, California, where are school had a booth to sale food. We were serving lamb tacos with spicy salsa, fresh green cabbage, and fresh lime wedges; I had never tried lamb before. It was the morning or the festival and I was so excited to show my teachers my work ethics and my passions for the industry. We finally pulled in to the festival, there were miles of food and wine vendors lined up down a windy path with the lake surrounding the park, and it was a beautiful sunny day. I spent the whole day working in the booth, drinking wine with my teachers, getting to know the other volunteer students, and learning what the culinary industry has in store for me. It wasn’t until I experienced this great opportunity, that I realized how lucky I ‘am to be receiving a great education. It changed my entire perspective on my goals and aspirations; I knew now that I was in the right place.