In high school, I was an associate at Abercrombie & Fitch, and during the time that I worked there, I have definitely accumulated some interesting traits that are typically only applicable to retail workers.

1. You can board fold 20 T-shirts perfectly in less than five minutes.

And no matter how good it may look after using the board to fold, you still hate it more than anything.

2. You’ve lost a decent amount of blood from pricking yourself with sensor tacks.

They hurt a whole lot more than you may think.

3. You have enough customer stories to entertain people for hours.

One time a customer didn’t speak English, so I had to help him by communicating through Google Translate. No, I’m not kidding.

4. Every time you go into a clothing store and see something not folded correctly, you feel morally obligated to fold it to help out other associates sharing your pain.

Even if it’s a shirt, if you fold it for me, I’ll appreciate you a million times more.

5. The majority of your paycheck goes back to your store because you buy all the new clothes on payday

I lived for those 50 percent employee discounts.

6. You can relate to cashiers at other clothing stores when they are going through technical difficulties.

Then you share a few stories and become friends. Trust me, it actually happens.

7. Floor sets and store updates are the bane of your existence.

Irritable managers, constant incoming shipments and store remodeling. How fun!

8. Opening shifts, closing shifts and inventory are also on your list of things to avoid.

Early mornings, late nights and Lord only knows when you’ll be leaving when your stores doing inventory.

9. If your store has a tagline that you say to all customers, you feel the need to say that tagline in a non-work setting because you don’t know any better.

For instance my store’s slogan was, “Hey! How’s it going?” Yes, I have said that to complete strangers that I make eye contact with in passing.

10. You’ve mastered the fake smile since you have to deal with annoying customers everyday.

And you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Working in retail definitely has its demanding and intense moments, but I learned valuable life lessons and have met some of my good friends through working in retail.