Occupation of a Lifetime

George Allen
Profile Essay
Lei Lani Michel
English 1001
Occupation of a Lifetime
While brainstorming about who would be a good candidate for a student interview I could not make a decision about what occupation would be of interest to both students and the Baton Rouge community. Ideas would come and go but as a student myself I realized most of the things popping in and out of my head would not even interest me. I was out to lunch with a friend of mine and his mom at a local restaurant, The Silver Spoon, when it hit me. The conversation at the table was becoming too boring and as my mind wandered I realized that all the waiters in the restaurant were young men appearing to be relatively the same age as me. Soon my mind was stirring and I asked our waiter if he wanted to participate in the assignment and he was more than happy. His name is Beau Landry and he is a 19 year old student who attends Baton Rouge Community College. Over the next ten minutes I question him gaining information which would have appeal to both students and members of the community alike.
Standing at six feet tall with brown hair and lanky arms, Beau would stand out in most people’s minds. As I began to question him about why he chose to work at a restaurant he gave an answer any college student can relate to. He says the job allows him to work every day but still have time to do his school work and have some free time on the side. As an only child Beau grew up here in Baton Rouge but was not accepted into Louisiana State University which was his school of choice. He explained that his parents promised to pay for him to attend if he worked hard in school for a year while maintaining a job. Beau was not shy at all and began to tell me about how in high school he slacked off and that is why his parents are making him prove to them that he is capable of doing well and being productive.
After talking with Beau for a few minutes about the more general things about the job like what his hours and requirements are I started to dig into what is it that makes his job a benefit to the community. As I began to do this he started to become more and more reluctant to speak. I sensed he had never even thought about that before. He just kind of stared at me with a blank face which was unusual because all the other questions had detailed answers. Then out of nowhere it came to him. A big grin came across his face as he began to tell me his explanation of why his job is important. Every day he waits on the same tables at the same time. As with any other restaurant, The Silver Spoon has regular customers who come in weekly or even daily. Beau talked about these three ladies who come in and sit in his section every time they are on their lunch break from their jobs. He describes the ladies as being in their late thirties to early forties and all of them have blonde hair. According to Beau they all tend to order the same thing everyday occasionally changing their orders depending on what the special is on any given day. Beau defended that while his job might not be the most exciting or beneficial job to society but he does make a few members of the community feel like they have a place to come eat and feel at ease.
As I moved on with the questions I observed Beau was still stuck on the question of why his job is important. When I asked him to tell me how he felt about Hurricane Katrina and how it affected his life I could tell I did not have his full attention because the answer he gave me simply was, “traffic”. I tried to gain more insight on that subject but he finally started talking again and it was not about Hurricane Katrina. Beau had been pondering the question of why his job is important to society and his insight is something that never crossed my mind. The significance of his job to society in his opinion is that he has this job to prove to his parents and himself that he can be productive and not slack off. In doing so he better motivates himself to do better in other things such as school. He says if he can keep up his motivation he will eventually attend Louisiana State University and will get his degree. His final point to all his whole rationalization was that the job he has now is not the best job in the world or highest paying or even a hard job but that by having it he can better himself so that in the future he can benefit society in larger ways than just putting a smile on a customer’s face.
Beau Landry’s answer to the question of why his job is significant to society is one of will and desire. As he answered that question I put my pen down and just soaked up what he was saying to me. His outlook on his job and life in general is confident. He believes that what he is doing right now is making a difference in the future. Anyone can take what Beau told me and relate it to something they need to do in their own lives. The interview was a success. I had come from not having a clue to what I wanted to write about to having something that both students and members of a community alike can take to heart.