I had decided in high school that my aspiration was to become a pharmacist. So, after graduation and choosing the right college, I got a job at my local neighborhood pharmacy to begin gaining some experience. Fast forward over two years later and I've seen about all there is to see. It can be a crazy, thankless job that leaves me ready to pull my hair out, but I (not so) secretly love it.

So, here I present 7 reasons why I really love living the pharm life:

1) Independently owned pharmacies are great for the community - I know that with so many options out there like CVS, Walgreens, and a pharmacy chain for almost every grocery store, it can seem difficult to chose the right pharmacy for you. Here's the thing though, supporting independently used pharmacies helps you to better support your community.

2) The customer service can't be beat - We personally know at least 90% of our customers by name. We're also pretty fast and efficient compared to other chain stores.

3) We have some pretty cutting edge technology - It honestly blew my mind when I started pharmacy classes and some of my fellow classmates talked about still having to hand count every prescription. We thought our old laser counter was outdated so we got a robot and now ~60% of our prescriptions are counted automatically. It's pretty incredible.

4) Staying up to date and involved in the community is made so much easier - With knowing most of our patients personally, it's so easy to keep up with their families and all the crazy gossip in town. We're almost always some of the first to know about the latest events and other happenings.

5) My work family is truly the best - The easiest way to deal with a crazy work day is to laugh it off with your coworkers. We're like one big family and sometimes it can be a pain - there's no such thing as secrets - but it's great to have so many people to celebrate with when you're doing good in school, or someone just bought a house, or prying in on new relationships. Plus there's always a healthy amount of pranks and jokes to go around.

6) We've got a ton of great products - If you need a recommendation for absolutely anything, we got you covered. Aside from regular OTC products, we have the liberty to carry other products our customers really enjoy whether it's Yankee Candles, Bella Taylor purses, school spirit apparel, locally sourced gifts, essential oils, and some extremely delicious candy for every season. Our product lines are carefully crafted to fit our customers and their interests.

7) We walk away with some pretty crazy experiences - Pharmacy is such a fast paced field and whether it's a technology malfunction, a simple tech error, or just a strange happening at the store, often times we walk away thinking to ourselves "Did that really just happen??" It can be really hilarious and it helps keep the day flowing

Community pharmacy is a wild ride, but its great and nobody can do it quite like us!