Last year, I was working in a job that I truly hated. At least, I
thought I hated it. I would come home after a long day at school, and I
would have to mentally prepare myself to go to work. I dreaded this job so
much that I actually didn't want school to end on certain days because that
meant I had to be at work in a few hours! And while most people looked
forward to their weekends, I silently dreaded mine, because rather than be
out with my friends, I had to be stuck in a department store.
You're probably wondering what was so awful about this job for it to
cause me such stress. Was it the people with whom I worked' No, I
actually got along great with everyone. From the day I started my job, the
other employees (some who were my age, and some who were a bit older) were
all very nice, welcoming, and extremely friendly. They were also helpful;
if I ever had a problem, I knew right away that I didn't have to hesitate
to ask them to lend me a hand. For instance, on my third day there, I was
folding clothes when a customer approached me and asked me where I could
find a certain pair of pants. I was still very new to the store and wasn't
sure where everything was, and before I had the chance to even fumble for
an answer and make a fool out of myself, my friend Chris stepped right up
and answered the lady's question. I remember feeling very relieved and
grateful to him for helping me out and not making me look stupid.
So, if it wasn't the people, was it my managers who were causing me
such misery' Actually, no, it wasn't them either. I may not have realized
it at the time, but I had wonderful managers. They trained me well,
weren't afraid to give me a good amount of responsibility (and yet they
never overloaded me with work), and even gave me confidence in myself. I
remember, after a few weeks on the job, I wanted to learn how to work the
register. I was n...