Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
On one of those nights where summer was turning into autumn, I (virtually) sat down with Ananya Singla, a senior in high school. She’d recently transformed her time working at McDonald’s into a comedy/life advice book titled Drive Through Diaries: A Lesson in Life and Fries. When Singla reached out to me to cover her book, I took a single glance at the ironic and alluring title, and was immediately eager to understand more about her experience, her identity as an Indian American, and her future plans. Read my interview with her below.
Drive Through Diaries is a quick read packed with many life lessons that, in my humble teenage opinion, all teenagers should know. I was under the presumption that I’d receive surface-level guidance: save your money, work efficiently, be kind to customers. However, I was pleasantly surprised to read tips I’d never heard before, especially from a young writer.
Singla mentions that a majority of her coworkers spoke Spanish, and she stayed engaged at her job by decoding their conversations, hence also polishing her language skills. This was only one of the examples she gave on making work fun. She also details ways to make your work experience count. In her case, she was able to score an interview with a multi-unit franchisee who owned several McDonald’s in her area just by working hard and networking. At the end of the book, she describes how she utilized her connections by scoring an interview with a franchise owner. In doing this, she gained more advice on how to thrive as a teenager in the work world.
To me, Drive Through Diaries was an entertaining read that kept me engaged till the end. Many bits in the book cracked me up, even if they weren’t meant to be funny. Singla offers counsel from the heart while sprinkling in some humor, so the readers’ experience is a mix of fun and insight. I made an effort to not take her advice passively; in fact, I applied it to my own job. As a teenager who tutors kids on the side, I found some of her advice to apply to my situation too. In slower moments at my tutoring place, I made work fun by talking to my coworkers and discussing weekend plans with the kids. Every day, I feel myself growing more efficient at my work and my network expanding as I meet more coworkers and managers. No matter whether it’s retail, fast food, or teaching, I believe Singla’s experience can fit everyone’s in one way or another.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What inspired you to write Drive-Thru Diaries?
Initially, I wasn’t planning on writing a book about my experiences, but I like journaling sometimes, so I write down the funny and crazy things that happen to me. It’s funny to look back on those things and I wrote down so many things that happened to me at McDonald’s because that’s the first time I worked a real job. I had come from a private school and, you know, there’s this expectation that people will be respectful and kind. I never really understood what it was to enter the real world where not everybody is going to be kind or forthcoming as kids in your school. That’s why I would say the stories I had were quite different from what I was used to, so looking back at them made me want to turn it into a book for another kid who wants an easier transition.
Why choose McDonald’s for your first job? Any specific reason?
There’s a few different reasons. One of them is kind of funny—my parents always used to say if you don’t do your homework, you’re gonna work at McDonald’s. It was their way of scolding and threatening me so it was funny that I wanted to see what it was like to work there. Also, my friend worked at McDonald’s so the process of getting a job there was easier.
Speaking of parents, I assume you grew up in the kind of household where parents are a little bit more strict or more focused on academics, and they teach you certain values that aren’t taught in other households. How do you think your Indian heritage and upbringing influenced your experience at McDonald’s, and how did you go about certain situations?
I would definitely say that they taught me to be very confident in who I am, and also that being an Indian American and a second generation definitely gave me two different identities.
I mean, when I was growing up in elementary school, I had to be very sure of myself, be very strong, and know who I am. I think that translated to McDonald’s because you’ll get a lot of customers who will kind of disregard your humanity, in a sense, where they won’t even recognize you as a person. They think of you as someone who’s just there to provide a service. Being very sure of who I am and knowing that’s not how you treat people or go about your business helped me maintain my confidence and deal with some pretty crazy situations.
Do you have a specific crazy situation that you would like to talk about?
There was one time where a customer didn’t really like what they got, so they threw it back at us through the window.
There was this other time when someone threw hard coins at my friend.
So, there’s definitely a lot of things that you just wouldn’t expect to happen, especially coming from an adult, I would say, but I mean, you learn to deal with those things.
With all these experiences, how was your opinion or viewpoint of the general public changed?
Yeah, I think before working at McDonald’s I was very naive, which sounds so stupid because I’m only 17 and I have a lot to see, but I definitely thought that there’s a certain decorum to be upheld. Every single time that you exit the house, you treat people with politeness, and you represent your family and yourself. That’s what I thought before I started working. After I began working, again, like I said, people did not really view me as human, honestly. It really felt like I was just there to provide them a service. Granted, I was getting paid to provide them a service, but I don’t think that means we should disregard the fact that service workers are still human, and they’re, you know, still deserving of respect.
What surprised you most about working at this job?
What surprised me most was it was actually a very difficult job. Like, there’s a very fast-paced nature in fast food; the average time we had per car was 55 seconds. We take the order, get their food to them, and be done with the customer in this amount of time.
So, it was a very fast-paced nature, and when working in a drive-thru, there’s a lot of things going on at once. You’re making drinks, so it gets slippery, you could be handing out food, you’d be taking orders. It’s all happening all at once, and it’s very chaotic and hectic. I think it definitely taught me to multitask very well and not crack under pressure, because at the same time, you’re getting customers who are frustrated, or it’s a hot day, and you’re getting that kind of feedback from them as well.
So, it definitely taught me that you should appreciate your service workers, and that not everything is their fault. Sometimes there are things that just cannot be helped.
How did you balance writing this book and attending high school?
It was definitely an effort to make the time to write the book. Majority of the process was during my junior year, which was pretty strenuous because a lot is crammed into one year. But I will say that if you’re really passionate about something, and my mom told me this as well, you will make that time for it. So, even if it was a few hours a week, or just during lunch, I would write.
I would say the most interesting part about this entire process was not actually writing the book.
Writing the book was easy, but getting it published, editing, getting the illustrations done, and having it ready for the public was very hard. It was a fun process, though, even if the book didn’t end up perfect.
How long did this entire process take you, from start to finish?
It’s taken about a year and a half. Nobody can just write a book. I would definitely say you need to commit to it, and it takes some patience.
What do you hope that people will take away from your book?
What I hope they’ll take away is that you can learn from anything. I know that that sounds so cliché, but honestly, three months at McDonald’s taught me a lot. I matured a lot, I learned how to open my banking account, how to talk to an adult without cowering behind my manager, and asserting that I’m actually a person.
I think that learning from everything you do, and actually taking it beyond, is really important. In this case, it’s taking a McDonald’s job and turning it into a book. There are always ways you can learn from your experiences.
What’s your advice to someone who’s getting their first paycheck? Save it, or spend it, another third mystery option?
It’s so funny you say that, because in the beginning, I had this idea that I was going to buy myself a really nice necklace or whatever. But—and I actually talk about this in the book—my friend saved her money and bought her mom dinner. I guess that really changed my perspective because I was 15 at the time and initially, I was stuck on the necklace, but I eventually decided to save it. I hope to put it towards college or just towards helping around the house.
At the same time, it’s important to treat yourself. But saving it and learning the value of money is also important.
Have you gotten any feedback on the book? What’s the most impactful, or most exciting feedback you’ve gotten?
The most exciting feedback? I actually have to think about that. I would say people thought it was very entertaining to read, and I wanted it to be entertaining. I didn’t want a boring book, I wanted it to be descriptive and comedic so that people would get a laugh out of it.
However, I put a lot of my lessons in the book because I wanted the teens who are reading this to actually take something away from it. Someone did tell me that those lessons were very easy to follow, because I did create the book in that format. That was some good feedback I received.
What’s next for your writing career after high school?
I actually want to enter medicine, but I do really like writing—I like the creative outlet. I also like the journey of sitting down and thinking. I don’t know what I will write in the future, but I think that turning to fiction would be a fun kind of turn of events. I’m not really sure, though.