16

For most young people, 16 means one important milestone spelled f-r-e-e-d-o-m. For me, it was no different. After failing my driver's test twice (don't ask), I got my license, then promptly got my first job, followed by my first car. It looked a lot like this:

His name was Peter.

It was a good little car and even made it all the way to New Hampshire and back for a graduation trip with friends.

My first job, aside from baby-sitting, was working as a "runner" at a local homestyle buffet restaurant called Gloria's. I did food prep and buffet maintenance for maybe a year. I had several friends working there, too, and remember learning how to made tartar sauce and cocktail sauce and peeling pounds and pounds of potatoes. Everything was homemade at Gloria's; they even made their own soft serve. The weekend buffet was awesome. They had soups and bread, a salad bar, hot appetizers like pizza and chicken wings, cold appetizers like shrimp and fruit, a variety of dinner options, and a whole bar of desserts that included cakes, pies, bread pudding, and soft serve. The job had its perks, but it also gave me my first experience with workman's comp. One evening, I was trying to get a big pot of gravy out of one of the warmers to refill the buffet and the pot was up high and missing a handle on one side. I gripped the edge of the pot with my potholder, but it slipped and hot gravy poured down my arm, leg, and even into my sock. I drove myself home, then my mother drove me to the ER, but there's not much you can do for second degree burns besides wait for the blisters to pop.

Another significant event occurred the summer I turned 16. I went back to Mexico, this time on my own, for 5 weeks. I had a lot of time getting to know my cousins, and once again, breaking Mexican hearts.  One of my cousins, Selene, secured a visa to come to the States and my bottom bunk was her first stop. I can't imagine what she thought coming to tiny Moriah, New York after living in Mexico City, but I loved having her around. Sele was the wise and patient older sister every teenage girl needs  around for long, late night talks. She stayed with us for at least a year before moving to Dallas.

Me and my sage cousin

Me, as the sage cousin.