Week 2 of CrossFit and Bartending- Lessons Learned

Crazy to think I didn’t believe I would make it through week 1 of CrossFit and bartending and then I moved through Week 2 and tomorrow commences week 3 already. Time is flying! In this blog post I’ll discuss what I learned during my second week.

Moving into week 2 of CrossFit I learned some new moves. I’m realizing now how much gymnastics is integrated into CrossFit and I think that’s why I find it challenging but also why I enjoy it. For those of you who don’t know I did gymnastics for a short while when I was younger and it was amazing, it allowed me to push past any limiting beliefs I had. This week I have been able to lift heavier, correct my form even more, and I feel myself getting stronger already. I’ve shed some pounds in the process, but one of the biggest benefits thus far hasn’t been physical, instead it’s been my mental health. The amount of grit and determination I have now to finish a workout is incredible. I’m able to get through more reps now because I’m stronger and I have a clear vision for my fitness and nutrition goals. Through CrossFit my relationship with food has also changed. It has allowed me to eat comfortably and not feel disgustingly full. It has allowed me to be more aware of what I feed my body. All in all, I don’t wake up dreading my mornings anymore. Instead I wake up grateful that I can walk the bridge to CrossFit, get a great workout in and walk back home all before 9am. Now that’s a great morning!

Week 2 of Bartending had me a bit stressed. I felt I wasn’t learning material as quickly as those around me. (Comparison is the thief of joy.) I was feeling even more nervous because I knew that on Thursday and Friday I would have to take a written exam and a speed test in order to complete my certification to be a bartender. (Disclaimer: you don’t need to go to bartending school, and you don’t need a license in NY to bartend, but I wanted to be official and also get proper training before I threw myself into it.) As the days went on, I’d sit in class, rewrite the recipes for drinks over and over. I would say them in my head. I would practice making the drinks behind the bar. I started using funny tricks to remember things for example there’s a drink call the Stinger the way I remembered what went in here was by thinking like this:

• Stinger is close enough to the word Singer. The singer I’m thinking of whose name is Brandy. Brandy is used in a Stinger and then I’d think the other ingredient stings, I’d think of the cooling, tingly, and stinging sensation of fresh mint, the recipe called for creme de menthe. That’s it there you have it a Stinger.

I thought about most recipes this way. I tried to make it fun and easy to remember for myself since I don’t have the greatest memory.

On Thursday came the written exam that is composed of over 30 questions asking about recipes, branding, and exact measurements of what was being poured. I thought to myself “Jesus Take The Wheel.” I didn’t know how I would do but I felt that I could at least pass even if it wasn’t with the highest score. I ended up getting an 88, after this it was time for the speed test on Friday. I hadn’t practiced as much as I should’ve because I was too focused on remembering all the ingredients for each drink.

Friday came, I started the test and within one minute I was panicking. I stopped what I was doing and asked “Could I start over?” my instructor said “yes you’re all good.” Second time came around, this time within 30 seconds of when I started to make the first 4 drinks I started crying as if someone had just died. It was insane. Long story short, I had a rough week and was feeling overwhelmed I didn’t feel I was in the right headspace to take the test I told the instructor it was okay I would just take it the following week I was feeling like a failure. My instructor was a sweetheart to me and told me to “just relax and he’ll circle back around after some people took their test.” I looked at my booklet, took some deep breaths went over the drinks in the book and decided it wouldn’t hurt for me to try so I ended up doing it a few minutes later.

Third time around, I took the pressure off of me. I wasn’t going to rush, I was going to do one thing at a time, and breathe through the process. I thought to myself you know these recipes, just give yourself a second to think about the recipe instead of trying to rush through it all. Throughout the process I was speaking to my instructor trying to make conversation to ease my worries as I prepared the drinks. Finally, I asked “so what other drink would you like?” He said “you’re done, and you passed!” I told him “stop playing why you lying to me like that?” He said I’m not lying and showed me the time and counted the drinks in front of me. I was ecstatic. As someone who gets extreme anxiety with tests and has never been good with tests I felt proud of myself for once. Now I’m officially a licensed bartender. After the week I had this was the news I needed.

If you’re looking for conformation to do something that scares you this is your sign. Had I stayed scared I wouldn’t be making proactive steps towards reaching my goals.

If I’m being honest I’m extremely scared to actually start bartending but I know I’m going to learn so much in the process and meet lots of people. My life could change from one day to another. This is also a reminder that not everyone starts off amazing at certain things, you’ll most likely be crappy in the beginning, but you’ll end up getting better with time. Life wouldn’t be what it was if we were all natural experts at everything we did. I’m excited for what the future holds. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Thanks for reading and allowing me to share a little bit of my story with all of you.

Final note: if opportunities aren’t showing up in your life create them yourself! I haven’t been landing the opportunities I wanted so I decided to switch my approach and take another route this lead me to bartending as a means to help me reach my financial goals. Know that you’re not alone, and don’t rush through life. Take in every experience because life is precious and it can be gone at any moment.