Once upon a time, I opened my dorm’s group chat to see if whether or not the girl who lives on the third floor was selling brownies this week and in the midst of my scrolling, I came across a post that said “Fun serving job position available. DM me if you’re pretty and outgoing”.

Me, being the broke college student I was thought to myself “Hey! I’m somewhat alright looking and my personality is decent. Plus, this tuition isn’t gonna pay itself.” So I messaged the girl who made the post and she introduced me to Tilted Kilt.

For those who aren’t familiar with Tilted Kilt, it is a restaurant chain among a select few other chains affectionately known as “breastaurants”. Think Hooters, but with slightly less clothing (if that’s even possible).

So why would a seemingly shy and innocent girl choose to expose herself in such a way?

I guess part of me wanted to try something new. I wanted to learn how to be comfortable in my body. So I schedule my interview/uniform fitting and I decide to tell the people closest to me about my plans:

My interview day comes up and even though it’s pouring down rain, I’m surprisingly optimistic. I meet with the general manager and thank God he’s normal and chill. A small part of me expected him to be one of those pervy types who preys on unsuspecting college girls looking for mad money.

We go through the basic interview process of him asking dating profile like questions and me filling out the application. Then I went into another room to prepare for the fitting. Obviously, being able to fit into the uniforms is a major requirement. I believe the sizes varied from an extra small to a large, which leaves a bit more room for a variety of body types, unlike some restaurants.

Rumor has it that the largest size Hooters offers is a medium. A medium

So I put on the entire uniform (which was a task in itself) and I’m pleasantly surprised. I came off as more “cute and girly” rather than “sexy ebony woman ready for a fun time”. I snapped a photo to my mother and she was super relieved as well.

Fast forward to a few months later when I actually started working. Keep in mind that I worked for all of one week before I had to come back home, but it was a life-changing week.

*cue sappy, dramatic music*

I loved my time working there. A lot of people think that working in an all female environment can cause cattiness, but I felt nothing but love and empowerment. It was like dancing backup for a Beyonce music video.

For once, I actually felt like my body was beautiful. I spent the majority of my life being made fun of for being too skinny and now I had the power to use my skinniness to my advantage. You couldn’t tell me nothing. I gained so much confidence in the short time that I was there and learned how to fully embrace sisterhood.

Would I ever consider doing it again? Yes and no.

Yes, because the experience was amazing.

No, because I’m 100% sure that my uniform no longer fits.