By the time this article goes live, I will have my completed my third Black Friday as a sales associate in a retail store. I am choosing to write this article before I go to work in a couple of hours because I don't know if I will make it out alive at 10:15 when my shift is over. There are some things that I am dreading about walking through those automatic doors, but I am hoping by the time I get there, customers will be as tired as me right now from all of the shopping I've done at other stores today. This is a good thought, but it's highly unlikely.

I find it interesting when I overhear people say, "I would want to work in retail over the holidays just once in my life, just to see what it's like." Well, let me save you the anguish, stress, and grief and allow you to live vicariously through myself, my fellow co-workers, and other sales associates across the country.

I will probably leave my house about 30 minutes before my actual shift starts, as it is hard enough to find a parking spot on a regular day let alone on Black Friday. I will then walk into the store, and make the ever so depressing walk to the break room to punch in, while walking past the chaos and turmoil throughout the store, some of which will be mine to take care of before the night ends.

I will then face the several customers who are set on getting their Christmas shopping done early. Some will be nice and pleasant, while some will be grumpy from all of the lack of sleep they've had in the past 24 hours, from cooking Thanksgiving dinner to waiting outside of stores in the cold.

By the time I leave work tonight, I will probably have the songs "Santa Baby" and "Christmas Time in Love" memorized forwards and backward after hearing them 47 times each on rotation. I probably won't even be able to fall asleep tonight due to the excessive amounts of caffeine I have consumed throughout the day to keep myself going.

You may want to become a seasonal worker so you can get that coveted employee discount and save on all of your Christmas shopping this year. Yes, it's a good idea in theory, but trust me when I say you will find yourself barely using that employee discount. First of all, you will have no time to be searching for those Black Friday deals and sales while on the clock, as you will have your hands full (literally and figuratively) with empty hangers and customer requests. Also, when your shift ends you will want to run out those front doors faster than a gazelle. The last thing on your mind will be to stay later to do some shopping.

Please trust me when I say, the Christmas season is more enjoyable from the customers' side. You can come and go from store to store as you please, you don't have to worry about walking by the always messy toy aisle, and you also apparently have the authorization to treat the sales associates like dirt. With that being said, I must get ready for work now. If I do not survive this shift, my will is in the top drawer of my dresser. Wish me luck...