I’m definitely not your typical college student. I am a single mother of two, Mills College Senior in the Infant Mental Health Masters Program, Journalism Minor, and I work a part time job as a bartender.

Every Tuesday night I throw on my black threads and head down to 2022 Telegraph to set up the bar for Happy Hour. From counting cash and hauling ice, to cutting garnishes for the soon to be mixed drinks, bartending is very physical. I spend anywhere from 6-9 hours on my feet.

With no bar back to assist with set-up, tending bar can be a dirty job. I carry cases of beer down steep steps and squat down low to stock the fridge. So while I would love to wear the oldest pair of comfortable black jeans I can find and an old dingy black t-shirt,  I don't. I know that the way I look seems to matter just as much as the taste of the drinks I mix.

I have come to find that the appeal of the bartender is an important aspect of tip earning potential. So yes, the v-neck is deep and the black jeans are tight. But nevertheless, bartending is a great part-time gig with an array of unexpectedness in every single shift.

From the high school teacher who grades papers over a glass of red wine, to the local radio DJ who never fails to start his Tuesday night off with a Heineken, the customers are interesting characters in and of themselves. And outside of the regulars I just mentioned, I’m never quite sure who or what I’m going to encounter.

Sometimes people come into the bar already drunk, other times folks have no idea what to order, but it seems the more experience I gain the easier it is for me to gauge certain customers’ preferences. My favorite is the semi-intoxicated couple who can’t help but be themselves because the alcohol has stripped them of their inhibitions--with them, you get a window into what other people’s relationships are really like. As a matter of fact, when I’m standing on the other side of that bar it seems like there’s an invisibility about me and the patrons are open and speak freely,  even though I’m a complete stranger. That’s why I make it a point to memorize people’s names and drinks, it adds to their experience.

As for me, I consider bartending to be my weekly adventure. It allows me to be whomever the person on the other side of that bar wants me to be.

I smile, I laugh, I nod, I’m polite, unless the customer isn’t, and I make sure people have great drinks and a good time.

As far as school goes, I worry but somehow I manage to lock those anxieties away in the corner of my mind and fight through the stress. And I sometimes pull all-nighters to get my work in on time, which means I go from standing up my entire shift to sitting at the computer until the sun comes up. (Here is where I sigh and think, oh the things I go through for a few extra dollars). So, if you see me nodding off Wednesday morning in class, please wake me up, it’s only because I had to work Tuesday night.

You want the usual?