One night over towards the middle of the summer my family and I decided to go to Paradise Bakery for dessert. We got our cookies and hot chocolate, and stood outside listening to the music students playing mozart and the can-can.

It was dark out, but warm, and the line extended all the way out the door and around the corner. The manager was out handing small sample cookies out to everyone waiting, and my dad saw him just as I saw the help wanted sign in the window.

My dad called him over, and we began talking, and somehow or another we ended up asking him if I could apply for a job. A couple days later I went in for an interview, and the following day I showed up for work.

Paradise Bakery is a small coffee and ice cream shop in Aspen, Colorado who just sold their other location to Panera Bread. But what you really need to know is that their cookies are heavenly, their gelato is to die for, and their coffee is just right. And it’s all homemade downstairs.

Working at Paradise was my first job, and I showed up for work my first day nervous. I didn’t know how to make coffees, or work the register, how to treat customers, or where anything was. Who knew there was a right way to scoop ice cream?

But the other employees took me in and helped me out. Within a week I was making the coffee drinks no problem, and I was pretty dang proud of myself. My co-workers became my friends, some of the only ones I had back home since going to boarding school. I woke up in the morning looking forward to going to work. And then I got my first pay check, and was able it to open it myself, bring it to the bank, and see my hard work pay off.

Not to mention snack on delicious cookies, muffins, and pastries every day.

But all too soon I was packing up to return to school, the leaves began changing colors, and the summer was over. When I go home on breaks I’ll return to work, but for the time being I’ll have to content myself with the memory of my favorite chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven.