I started at Rue21 2 years ago. It was my first ever job and a few months ago we said goodbye to the store before it closed forever. I was a lot more upset than I thought but now I know the reasons why:
1. My coworkers
When I started at rue there were so many different people and I was scared at first. They welcomed me in and we were all a huge family. We have cried together, got hurt together and had way too many laughs together. It was really hard seeing people go, managers, people in college and other sales associates like me.
2. The Customers
Yes, I said the customers even though sometimes they were for sure annoying some weren't. One of my favorites was a girl who said "just dress me in what you want, I don't even care, you have taste" that girl and I are still close and we talk almost every day. There was another customer who would just come into gossip with me. It is very hard to think about not seeing them in the store again.
3. The Clothing
Rue21 was a place that I could express myself with clothing. We could wear what we wanted, help customers get what they wanted including coworkers (who I also dressed) and dress mannequins. Mannequin Sunday's were always the best. They were full of laughs and corny jokes about needing a hand.
4. My Corny Made Up Words
So some may say the words I made up make no sense or aren't funny...I will never forget the Ruarty (Rue + Party). We had Holiday ones or just pizza ruarties. Whenever I was begging for something from Megan a long time manager I would say Ruese (Rue + Please) sometimes I wouldn't get want I wanted but she was still the best. All of us had Rue-twenty-fun together and I loved it!
5. The Store
Small is an understatement when describing our store front. It sat in a "dead mall" and was jam packed with merchandise. We all believed we had a store ghost that would play tricks on us. It was very hard to put new things out or put clothing away because we were so full. I didn't realize how much of a blessing that was until our final days. It was heartbreaking to walk in and see the store that was so alive be so empty.
I'm never going to forget the memories, like when Sam ran out of the store to give someone my number, when Frankie named the mannequins and gave them a back story, when Maria and I won the egg dropping contest, when Megan had to approve of every boy and told me she would adopt me, when I gave Alisa a hug, when Marissa (aka Rissycakes USA) and I went on 55 minute breaks together, when I met Hannah and she soon became like a sister to me, when some random girl with purple hair showed up, working with Tamara would always brighten my day, when Allie wasn't allowed to be called by her name and figured out what we could take from the 'LAST DAYS' of the store and last but not least I will never forget my whole store black Friday day sale sign change by myself.
Lastly, I would like to thank all the people I worked with or interacted with, you've shaped me to be the person I am today. Even though we're rue-twenty-done the memories will last a lifetime.