A gift of mine that I particularly value is my ability to communicate and interact effectively with people. I discovered this early on in high school when I was hired to work at a local hair salon as a receptionist. The beautiful and vibrant owner, Jeniffer Fodill, believed in me and my ability and hired me for my very first job. Quickly, I learned the importance of being able to talk to people and problem solve.
Although I am not in high school anymore, I learn more and more every day from my experiences at Hair Perfection. Through booking appointments, answering phone calls and working the register at the salon, I learned how to become an organized and thoughtful employee. It also taught me to be understanding of others in the work place and how to deal with challenging people.
Not only did I learn from self-experiences at the front desk, but from the 11 extremely talented stylists in the salon. Each woman taught me something unique about life and the importance of good service. They taught me that it's okay to make mistakes. They showed me how to have fun at work while being professional. They taught me the importance of loyalty and promise. They taught me how to be an organized and effective worker. They taught me to be my spunkiest even on my worst days. But most importantly, they taught me to be the best woman I could be.
I am extremely blessed to have had such a positive work environment. Not a day did I dread having to go in for a shift at work. Rather, I looked forward to what the day would bring and the time that I would be able to spend with the stylists (more like my friends). I have a unique friendship with each of the women in the salon that makes me excited to go in to work each day just to spend time with them as we work (and socialize, of course).
On tough days with tough customers that seem never-ending, I continuously reminded myself to be patient and understanding and that each day at work was a learning experience. Every time I had a problem with an appointment, phone call or transaction, I took a step back to remember that this was a real-life learning experience, something that I couldn't learn in school or from a textbook.
Although this was my high school job that I returned to this summer, I still feel like I learned just as many important aspects about life as I would in a job in my field of study. As a political science major, I look forward to exploring other opportunities, but nothing will quite compare to my time at Hair Perfection.
