At sixteen years old, I went out on a job hunt at my local mall, and had a rather difficult time, being so young. Many of the shops and eateries required their workers to be at least eighteen years of age. I had no preference to where I was going to be hired, I just wanted a job desperately. I finally found a store that was hiring starting at age sixteen. By the time I applied and was hired, I was a couple of months over seventeen. It was summertime, and I was about to start my job as a sales associate in a clothing store for little girls, which little did I know, would turn out to be my second home at heart.

Currently, I am twenty-one years old, and have been fortunate enough to work at the store all four years, while attending community college. In just a little under two months from now, I will be moving an hour up north to a new college to continue my education. Although I will be back working on winter and summer breaks, life will not feel the same without being there on a regular basis.

There are so many nightmare stories about working in retail, but in all honesty, I think that it has prepared me for the real world in so many ways.

1. I have had various conversations with really lovely customers, which always brightens my day. However, learning to deal with the not-so-nice ones has taught me a great deal about the people that are really out there. It has made me learn tolerance, and controlling my temper trying to keep a positive environment, but it has also helped me to learn that I should not take unnecessary jive from anybody. It also really does not help when you get those customers that will argue with you until the cows come home; the ones who repeatedly ask what is on sale, even when you have explained thirty times that nothing is.

2. Math has never been my forte, but working in retail has taught me more about fractions and percentages than school ever did. Also, I have learned to become really good at managing money. And knowing a good sale when I see one. I gained shopping smarts, I suppose you could call it.

3. This may sound cheesy, but especially working with clothing, I have developed a lot of knowledge about fashion, and my sense of style over time has really grown. This alone has helped me to learn a lot about myself as a young adult.

4. Professionalism. I think because I work in an environment where children are there four out of five times, it really taught me what to and what not to say in public. Of course it should be obvious, but some people truly do not have a filter, which can get them into a lot of trouble. But very importantly, I learned that your outside problems need to stay out of the workplace, which means your attitude needs to also be left behind. You are in a professional zone, act it.

5. I found out that it is okay to get my hands dirty. After cleaning bathrooms, mopping, swiffering, cleaning dusty registers, taking out the trash, nothing phases me anymore. My cleaning habits have gotten a lot better, as have my folding skills.

6. But most importantly, it has taught me that if you decide you love your job, and stay there for four years on, your coworkers that you spend so much time with, if you're lucky enough for them to be the ones who mentor you, help you in any needed situation, and are always there for you, are much more than just coworkers. They are family.