Well, this has to end at some point, doesn't it? This whole war between me and the Head Chef.

A huge achievement for us was the day Julia and her husband went away for the weekend and left the kitchen in our hands for 2 days. In other words, we were our own bosses. According to her instructions, I was supposed to finish my work around 8, but due to the high workload, I allowed myself to leave at 10. No, I wasn't being too bold or insolent, considering we were genuinely swamped and the office manager (who is a relative of the owner) saw it and allowed me to stay late. That day was perhaps the busiest of the entire season. And this was confirmed by record sales in the restaurant's history: about $18.3k for the day, which is considered a good profit for our kitchen and a truly great day.

In August, I became an independent cook who could already do everything. I no longer did the dirty work; I mainly handled responsible tasks, and during busy moments, I helped on the line. Or I could just jump on the line to replace someone. At some point, I became an indispensable worker whom everyone started to value. Everyone, even Julia. Although she continued to tease me, it was with great respect, which eventually resulted in my victory. The victory of my season. All the torments, problems, and mishaps that happened to me passed, and I received this:

Yes! Do you understand my happiness at that moment?

Someone joked to me, "Are you going to show this to everyone now?" I was ready to hang it on the wall. After both Chefs disliked me, achieving this height was a great success for me.

At the end of the season, one of our office managers, Matt, even told me that I would have deserved the title of worker of the season if such a thing were awarded.

And his fiancée, hearing my conversation with someone about how they used to make me wash dishes, said, "If only they knew back then how good you are."

To be honest, when Julia and Sal (her husband) left, I was terribly sad. I had already gotten used to them, and it was sickening to realize they would no longer be in my life. After all, the anger toward Julia pushed me and forced me to be better. And you know what? I am grateful to her for everything. Even though she broke me all season, she managed to make me better.

Now do you understand the essence of everything I write? What is worth fighting for? What is worth not giving up for?

I didn't give up. And I won.