May’s common app essay

The Currency of Change

I peered over at the register screen and mumbled the order under my breath: a large #1 with boba and 30% sugar. I grabbed a shaker, scooped ice up to the rim, pressed “1.5” on the sugar machine, and waited for the milk tea to flood the ice. Shake, check the bottom for undissolved sugar, pour, scoop out extra ice and froth from the surface, wipe the cup with a dry towel. When I handed the drink to the customer with a smile illuminating my face, the lady took one sip and scowled.

As summer beckoned me toward new experiences, it was partially my initial love for boba and overwhelmingly my insistence on trying something spontaneous that drove me to work at Cool Tea Bar. I had only ever experienced being on the other side of the counter, waiting impatiently in line for my drink and plodding across sticky tea-stained floors. It wasn’t until this customer shouted something indiscernible directed toward me and demanded for her drink to be remade that I gained immense respect for people with customer service jobs.

Determined to persevere, I held my breath through mopping the bathroom floor, unpacking loads of heavy boxes in a humid closet, and negotiating with carping customers. One highlight included embarrassing myself while advertising our groundbreaking new watermelon drink to our competitors next door. I set my ego aside and dashed around shouting, “It comes in an actual watermelon!” at the top of my lungs. Still, through the entire summer, I never regretted my decision to work at Cool Tea Bar. Service requires dedication and persistence past occasional dips along the journey. Using momentum from low points, I forged onward to invaluable lessons awaiting me at the top of each hill.

One can choose to measure success in either tips or smiles, and I chose the latter. I felt a greater sense of accomplishment in seeing a stranger leave with a smile than after hearing the clatter of change at the bottom of the tip jar. My choice in mentality carried over to other parts of my life as well. When I taught violin to energetic eight-year-old beginners, I strove above all to share my love for music through fun practices and learning experiences. Like with my job as a barista, the impact I had on others transformed adversity into fulfillment. Though recitals consisted of squeaky notes and staggered endings, smiles lit up all of my students’ faces as they took their final bows. The excitement bursting from these young violinists, like when they eagerly hollered “Miss May!” and wiggled their fingers to share their improvement in vibrato, cannot be bought. By fostering genuine passion and joy, technical measures of success undoubtedly follow.

The urge to sincerely help or inspire others in a meaningful way guides me toward what I choose to do outside of the classroom. I ask, “Why does this matter to me?” and allow the answer to pave my path forward. At the most unexpected place, I not only uncovered valuable lessons in teamwork and accountability, but also shared with others the same jubilation in a cup that had initially drawn me to work as a barista. From each of my experiences in service, spanning teaching young musicians to working at a boba store, I have collected my own kind of currency. My dollars take the form of gratitude and thanks, the pennies embraces and smiles.

After gaining a newfound perspective, I step back around to the other side of the counter and drop change into the jar.