Original Instagram Post – October 3, 2017
October 2, 2004…I stepped into that building for orientation. I was completely convinced that this was just a temporary job, a holdover until I found a management position elsewhere. In my interview the STL told me I was overqualified, but they would be happy to have me. I don’t think either of us expected me to stay. After the first month, I almost didn’t. I got yelled at more times than I care to remember. The systems seemed complicated. Everything was red. There wasn’t much I liked about it. Slowly but surely though, I began to fall in love. First with the team spirit, and then the team itself. That quirky group of T-1548ers, stole my heart, and became my family. 13 years and several stores later, I still carry that with me wherever I go. Retail is mostly thankless, especially when you’re around for a long time. Eventually you become a fixture, and everything you are, and everything you do, gets taken for granted. The pay is a joke. You have to fight for hours. You run around all day trying to please people who are rarely satisfied. Why would anyone stay in such an environment? I can’t speak for everyone else. But for me, it’s always been the people. Many of the people I love most in the world, have come to me in red & khaki packaging. People who have inspired me, people I’ve looked up to, people I’ve nurtured, people who have nurtured me….Kindred spirits, and constants, and soulmates. I have laughed until I cried, and cried until I laughed within so many sets of red walls, it’s impossible to not feel fortunate. My heart is grateful for the last 13 years, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Whichever leg of my bullseye journey you’ve been a part of, 1548, 2309, 212, or 2529, THANK YOU! With you I have grown and loved in ways I never could have imagined. 💗
