So, this year, I started my first job at the GameStop in Spartanburg, and my God was it hectic. What made it worse was that my first day of the job was on Black Friday, and I had no idea what I was doing for most of the day and when I finally figured out what I was supposed to be doing, I was switched to doing a different job. I had to work three hours overtime, and I didn't have a lunch break, and I've been complaining about my sore muscles for two whole days, but all in all it was a pretty great day regardless.

And I know what you're thinking, "Anna, if it were me, I would have been complaining. What made it such a great day?"

Well, it was a great day because not only did I get to meet and work with some pretty great people, but I was surrounded by video games for ten hours that day, and it was like I was working in my element. But that's not the purpose of this article. This is an open letter because working for the first time made me realize some pretty important things.

Dear Retail Workers and Restaurant Staff,

So, you guys get a pretty bad rep, from what I can tell. Most of the time when I check in on Facebook or Twitter, I see a cashier or a waitress who's complaining about their completely terrible day at work because they've had to deal with rude customers or some other problem that I probably wouldn't understand in a million years, and yet you keep going back. And I know you're probably saying "yeah I keep going back, I have to pay the bills somehow", but that's not the point.

I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being the people who have to put up with a ton of pretty crappy people just for minimum wage and no free time on the weekends. Thank you for keeping this world turning, because without you guys I'm pretty sure we would have already had some sort of worldwide apocalypse that may or may not involve a robot uprising, but...ya know.

You could be doing a million other things in this world right now, but instead you're working a job that no one really wants and making next to nothing just so that I can have the stuff that I probably don't need or the food that's not good for me.

Thanks for basically taking care of the needy masses, and dealing with garbage human beings so the rest of us don't have to (plus, either way you get paid for it so...bonus?)

P.S. We're not all that bad. Just most of us. (That's why I tend to stay in my room so I don't have to either deal with or become one of those people).

P.P.S. You guys deserve way more than minimum wage, but I don't think I need to get into that tonight.