By Aaliyah

I remember working in fast food a few years ago, I usually remember the laughs and customers. What I just recently thought about was the disrespect and how irresponsible we were as crew members. Some stole, others were late, and some didn't even show up to work their shift most days. We had no respect for our managers, I remember talking back and half doing the tasks I was given. Now that I think about it, being a manager was hard work!

I also remember different managers accusing one another of theft, no one trusted anyone. Our managers used to bend the rules for some and be strict on others. They were supposed to be our examples and they were tardy to work or were getting in trouble for half doing their work. Do you see where I am going with this?

Let me list some things I saw on a daily basis:

stealing

lying

arrogance

irresponsible

dis respectfulness

......I am sure there are more.

I know my little job wasn't the only place where managers and crew members alike practiced bad habits. Our managers used to find half eaten, unpaid for sandwiches in the weirdest places! Often times we would steal food with the money to pay for it sitting right in our pockets. I don't remember anyone getting reprimanded because what they did was wrong but, because what they did cost the store money. We didn't realize how our choices were due to a lack of Character Education.

My grandmother had no idea I was acting the way I was at work, she didn't know I was so rude or irresponsible. My grandmother just thought I was just fine and that I had my head on straight, little did she know....little do most parents know. Can you guarantee that your adolescent wouldn't steal, lie or be disrespectful to others while not in your presence? I believe many of us hope our children will make the right choices but, put out the possibility of them doing the opposite.

And things haven't gotten better either, a manager I know still has to deal with the same issues. He finds himself often times disciplining instead of being a manager. He shouldn't have to constantly ask workers to pay for food that they have already eaten. These values should already be instilled in workers before they apply for jobs or are eligible to work. I am not just talking about adolescents I am talking about adults also, I remember seeing a fight between a manager and an adult crew member!

I knew it was wrong to steal but, didn't know how much it really affected my character when I did. Each time I stole I was putting it in my mind that this was okay to do. I constantly lusted after things that weren't mine and would think of ways to steal them when the manager wasn't around. To be honest I didn't deserve that paycheck I received, I didn't deserve the job either. I would be late and then  expect to not be corrected about it. Even though, I agreed to that time and shift and knew about it well in advance. The bottom line is I didn't care, none of us did.

I didn't care if someone had to stay later to work because I was late, I didn't care if I messed up the stores money by stealing food. I did not care about anyone but myself. I think we all can remember times when it was all about us, we didn't care about the repercussions or consequences for our actions.If were caught doing something wrong, we would be embarrassed but, never did we think of the big picture and no one around was able to show it to us because they were often doing the same things we were.