I used to think the holiday season was magical, but now it’s just a never-ending nightmare. As a retail worker, I’m forced to endure the wrath of entitled customers, all while pretending to be merry and bright. The constant barrage of questions, demands, and complaints wears me down, day after day. I’m starting to lose my mind, and I don’t know how much more of this I can take. The irony is, I used to love this time of year, but now it’s just a reminder of my miserable existence.
People think working in retail is easy, but they have no idea what it’s like to be a cog in a machine, a mere puppet dancing on strings to satisfy the whims of the customer. They have no concept of the physical and emotional toll it takes on us, the endless hours of standing, the constant noise, the endless questions, the fake smiles, the lies, the pretenses. And for what? So they can buy their gifts, their decorations, their meaningless trinkets? I swear, sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth it. The money, the benefits, the security – is it really worth losing my soul?
Sometimes, when I’m stuck behind the counter, surrounded by the chaos and madness of the holiday rush, I fantasize about just walking out, leaving it all behind. Leaving the job, the stress, the customers, the lies, the fake smiles. But where would I go? What would I do? I’m stuck in this rut, trapped in a life that’s not mine. And so, I put on the mask, the happy face, the festive cheer, and I pretend to be someone I’m not. But deep down, I’m dying, suffocating under the weight of it all.
>Soulkyn