I applied for a real, big-person job when I was 16 years old. Before then, I had babysat often, but I wanted something different than waiting around for people to call me to come guard their children with my life for $8/hour. A friend had told me that a local retail store was hiring for seasonal help so I decided to apply, never thinking that I would stay on past Christmas.

I was super nervous my first day of work and I did not know how everyone in the store would react to me because I had no customer service experience nor had I any clue how to work a register. Well that was a selfish thought because it turned out that many of the seasonal workers were in the same boat and had just as much to learn as I did. As time went on, I learned more retail-related skills and I honed in on my people skills as well. I learned how to read customers and immediately know what they were in to get and how I could help them spend all of their money (usually more than they wanted).

I hated my job for the first few months and I would dread going because I would have to deal with rude people and I didn’t really talk to any of my coworkers because I was shy. As the holiday season came to a close, I became more patient and I actually liked working. I was upset knowing that this would probably be it, but I ended up staying on and the rest is history. Just kidding…retail has its ups and downs, don’t get me wrong, but for now I like it and working retail has taught me life skills such as patience and problem solving and visual planning that I would never have picked up without a customer service job. I probably won’t work retail for the rest of my life, but I’m lucky enough to have been set up with some solid skills because of it.

In addition to retail-skills, I also gained some really valuable friends, friends who have changed me as a person, I think for the better. I was scared to talk to my coworkers when I first started working because they were all older than me but they began to talk to me and ask me about myself and I opened up more and more. The people I work with every day have become like a little extended family for me. They are kind and giving and listen no matter how trivial I might sound. We don’t just talk about work, we also talk about real issues they might be having in their lives or I might be having. My coworkers have given me new insights and have made me a kinder, softer person; these people are not just work friends, they are my real friends who I actually want to talk to when I’m not getting paid to do so.

Just think all you crazy holiday shoppers…your demanding requests might be teaching some young cashier important life lessons! Everyone should work retail for at some point in their lives if only to gain a different perspective when you go shopping for yourself. Now when I walk into a store, all I can think about is how I need to fold the clothes someone threw on the table or fix the store’s display. Anyway, thank you eccentric customers and more importantly, thank you to my truly wonderful coworkers. I could not get through a shift or a day without you all.