Kaylea Forsythe

Root Bound

Last year, I celebrated a decade in the service industry. It wasn’t exactly the job and career milestone I thought I’d be celebrating. And to say it was bittersweet would give too much credit to the industry. But maybe I’m jaded because I worked during the 2020 pandemic summer into winter in a college town. Getting yelled at over fake IDs or cutting people off from drinking more alcohol was frequent. I can’t exclude the people angry over mask rules either. At times they wore political attire and were recognizable from 50 yards away. Other times it was a seemingly kind dad with his kids who’d snap during my spiel at the host stand. Not everyone was unkind, many were happy we were open, but my sensitive, introverted soul carried emotional bruises home. It was during 2020, like most folks, when I made big, impulsive decisions about what would make me happy.