Two words completely changed what my summer of 2023 was supposed to look like– business insurance. Seems like a bit of an odd pairing that would serve to irrevocably alter the state of my summer plans, but unfortunately the slate I had scheduled quickly crumbled away. My twin sister and I were supposed to run a swim instruction business, and had been crafting our enterprise for months; the website was up, employees were hired, and clients were steadily filling up appointment slots. That’s when, right before final exams in April, our father shared some slightly upsetting news–KingSwims would not be moving forward as a result of failing to land business insurance to cover any potential liabilities.
I couldn’t dwell on the unsavoury turn of events as I had five exams to prep for, but once the semester had wrapped up I found myself out of a job for the next four months. It was far too late to apply for any sort of internship, and the more lucrative summer student jobs had all been snapped up by the time I could get around to submitting my resumé. This summer was supposed to gift me with the invaluable experience of running my own business, but now I was left with no prospects and a harrowing job search ahead.
Well, that’s not exactly true. While I did embark on a depressing spree of rejection from various establishments, I was able to turn this fairly large roadblock into a masterclass of organization, time-management and, most importantly, adaptability.
Once I had recovered from the initial setback, I put a plan in motion. Firstly, I called up my manager at Bath&BodyWorks where I had worked for the previous three years, and requested to be placed back on the schedule, with a stipulation–I was unable to work Mondays and Wednesdays due to my job as a self-employed swim instructor. Instead of letting our established clientele dissipate into thin air, my sister and I pivoted to provide lessons at people’s homes and public spaces for those who were interested. As the summer progressed we started to receive new emails from clients who had heard about us through word-of-mouth, and soon enough our car became filled with towels, toys and the lingering scent of chlorine.
Two of my weekdays were designated for lessons while I was given around two shifts a week at Bath&BodyWorks, albeit with quite low hours. I needed something else to fill the remaining days, so I set my sights on a serving position. I knew I wanted to gain experience in this department to bring in some extra cash in tips, and after a quick completion of my SmartServe I was hired at a golf course where I was thrust into the world of the service industry. I started the summer with nothing–but ended up with three different jobs in three very different areas, testing the limits of my soft skills.
Balancing three jobs at once was not an easy task and required the utmost of diligence to stay on top of my separate schedules, especially since I was in charge of one of them. Often my worlds would collide, as I would use my break at the golf course to catch up on any emails KingSwims needed to send or had received. This balancing act became quite stressful at times, but it truly forced me to manage my time so I could be effective in each of my roles as a coach, server and sales associate.
My key takeaway from the summer of 2023 was to learn how to ride the waves. Life is rarely ever still–sometimes the tide turns in your favour, but sometimes the best you can do is survive the merciless and often arbitrary blows that fall your way. My summer plans ended up looking vastly different than what I had originally envisioned, but as I head into my second year, I’m grateful for the opportunity my failure presented me with. While it would have been nice to experience the summer that was at my fingertips, I believe the summer I earned will set me up for success in the new year. With multiple extracurriculars where I will be shouldering more responsibility, these past four months have reinvigorated my drive to succeed, where I’ll need my soft skills more than ever. Thankfully, I’ve had a bit of practice–even though I won’t be behind the bar or in the pool, I’m ready to apply my newfound capabilities to work. Here’s to a wonderful year ahead of being your Co-editor of the AEO Onward Blog.