Thursday, August 7, 2014

A Chapter Closes

(tee: joe fresh | skirt: dress bought from lulu letty, turned into skirt | shoes: mod cloth | belt: forever 21 | necklace: american eagle | bracelet: h&m)

This week has been a pretty significant one for me... I had my last shift at Coles on Wednesday night since I'm leaving for school. A few days before, my coworkers threw me a going away party (See what I did with the title there? I'm done my bookstore job. Get it? Books, chapters, moo ha ha). I dressed up just a little bit for the event. I had a hard time thinking of the perfect outfit, but in the end I settled on a black tee and floral skirt. It felt like a good level of dressiness for an important dinner at a not-so-fancy venue.


The dinner was actually really nice. It was nice to have one last get-together with the people I've come to spend so much of my time with. The staff at Coles has changed so much since I first started, and most of the girls working there now are new, but I've still grown close with so many of them and made some really great friends.


The staff bought me such a cute gift (a Kate Spade agenda that we carry that I've been swooning over for a while now, and an adorable owl mug), and gave me the sweetest card. They all wrote me the loveliest messages, and it was so nice to be told that I was appreciated as an employee, coworker, and friend. My boss (who has had some moments of the crazies) also let me know that I've been one of her most dedicated employees and I would be the hardest to replace. It gave me a case of the teary eyes.


It feels so strange to be done at Coles... I don't think it's really hit me yet. I feel like I still work there. I've dedicated so much of the past two and a half years to that place, working overtime, nearly every day, doing long hours and late nights whenever I was asked to. And most of the time, I was happy to.

It sounds really silly to get so sentimental about a retail job, but that job was really important to me for so many reasons. For a long time, I considered it one of the best things to happen to me. It was a job I really loved, was really good at, flourished at, felt appreciated at, and I also made some really great friends. It was a great fit for me for a long time.

More recently, it's been a bit of a negative thing in my life. I've had my fair share of difficulties and stress due to certain events and people. It's lost a lot of the lustre for me, and I have felt taken advantage of more than a few times. Which I suppose is pretty common for those of us working minimum wage jobs through college. But it's been sad to be so jaded at a job I once loved.

I think that as much as this job grew to be a huge source of stress, I will really miss it. I'm going to miss the times it was a really fun environment. I will miss obsessively organizing books and products, the perfect balance of slow days and busy days, having a great discount on some of my favourite things, the good customers, and the friendships I made. I grew up a lot working there and I'm very grateful for the experience.

But I'm also incredibly happy to be moving on. That job wasn't going to take me anywhere, and I'm excited to move on to bigger and better things.

Aaaand I am sorry for all of these cliches... I am stuck in a sentimental vortex of cheesiness right now. I will be better tomorrow.

7 comments:

  1. Its always emotional leaving a job that you have been at for a few years. I have worked retail before and although I know it was the right time to leave it was still hard. Onward and upward! Starting school is always scary and exciting. Great post! Love the Kate Space agenda ;)

    Sarah
    sarahjustinestyle.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cute skirt!! I love your blog!
    I am following you now:)
    please feel free to do the same.
    xo
    www.laurajaneatelier.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that floral skirt! So cute. I just recently got into floral prints myself.

    - Shanna | www.redheadfixations.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. moo ha ha! perfect. props on the outfit choice!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the floral skirt! So cute! :)

    Tamara
    www.trulytamara.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. You look gorgeous! Good luck on your next chapter!

    ReplyDelete
  7. yay to moving on to bigger and better things.. good luck!
    you look super cute

    ReplyDelete