Over the summer I worked at the local supermarket before starting university, and although I said I'd come back in the summer I'm already finding myself really dreading it. Yes, there were some good things about the job:

- Seeing old friends, friends' parents and teachers

- The friendly customers

- The money

But there was also:

- The unpredictable tills (items refusing to scan or scanning twice - if they scanned twice I had to get a supervisor to void them, as we weren't allowed; conveyor belts jamming; till drawers refusing to open; cheques not printing)

- Missing barcodes, bakery products I couldn't identify

- Questions I couldn't answer - I'd only been shown round the store very quickly on my first day, so I didn't know where anything was

- Alcohol! My worst enemy while I was there - I had to ask a member of staff who was over 18 for permission to sell any customer alcohol...they said it was because I was under 18, but I didn't see anyone else being told to do the same thing. I hated it, and I'm sure it annoyed the other staff just as much as me, if not more! Now that I'm 18, though, I'm assuming I wouldn't have to do that any more, which in a way would be worse as I'd have to make the decision myself and live with the knowledge that I'd face a huge fine if I made a mistake

- Never being able to leave on time, as I had to wait for another member of staff to let me off my till before I was allowed to go (same with breaks)

- Saturday shifts - so busy, so tiring and so much alcohol!

- The awkwardness of serving people from school

- Having to be polite and friendly to everyone no matter how I was feeling (there was one occasion where I got caught serving alcohol to a customer (who must have been in his 40s at least) without asking first and got told off by my supervisor in front of a queue of people, and then had to continue as normal while I was busy fighting off a panic attack because I was scared I was going to lose my job)

I really really really don't want to go back... But I don't see what choice I have! Even if I worked somewhere else, there would be similar problems. Is it actually possible to enjoy your job, or should I have made the most of school while I was there?