I have a confession to make: I love my job. I love getting to go to work, making money, seeing the people that have slowly became my friends, getting sh*t done.
Now, this is probably not normal, but I can’t hold back my truth.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes there is nothing I wouldn’t rather be doing than working. Working a retail job is never solely fun. I have dealt with my fair share of rude customers, creepy old men and random sexist comments.
But 90% of the time I am at work, I am enjoying it.
I first have to say: I have a really simple job. I work as a cashier at a local hardware store called Ed Young’s True Value Hardware.
Ed Young’s is a family owned business that has operated in Williamsville, New York for 75 years. I have customers come in and tell me how they used to go there when they were a child 50-60 years ago.
One of the things I love most about it is that it is a family owned business. That means the owner comes down and talks to me at least once a week. While it is nerve-racking talking to the ‘big boss’, it’s nice knowing that the management is within reach and I can talk to them about any troubles I may be having (or needing a raise).
It’s a smaller store too, so there is only about 40 employees working there. That means I know everyone’s name, my manager buys lunch for us, there is always a holiday party thrown and I’ve become close with a lot of my co-workers.
One of the perks of it being a smaller store is that I can learn new things and get more hours working in different departments. For example, when they needed someone to work back in the warehouse shipping out Amazon orders, I was able to be taught everything I need to know. Because of this new ability, I am now able to pick up pretty much any hours I want.
For a broke college student, this is super helpful for when I’m on break or even just have a day that I want to drive home and make some extra cash.
Another perk of a small store is knowing everyone and building relationships with people. It’s a lot more fun going in to work when I know Dana is going to tease my sister, Matt is going to recommend me music that I don’t like and Sharon will have her glove on.
These small things that have slowly become part of my routine and make Ed Young’s feel like a second home at this point.
As a result of knowing everyone, I have made some of my greatest friends while working at Ed’s.
My best friend, Grace, has been working at Ed’s for 4 years and she has become one of my favorite people. We met through my friend, Alea, who also worked with me, and have quickly become super close.
This friendship with Grace has made coming to work one of the highlights of my week. I drive back from college at St. Bonaventure, just to work a Sunday shift with her almost every weekend.
I would not have this wonderful, bright friendship in my life if it had not been for my job at Ed Young’s and I am eternally grateful for that.