Finding meaning in the mundane

As a fashion merchandising major I always thought working in the fashion retail sector would be helpful to my future career post-graduation. Therefore, ever since my sophomore year of college I worked hard to balance both work and school, trying desperately to excel in both. Eventually, I worked my way up to a management position that opened many doors for me both in school and at work. It seems that at school, students who worked in the industry while going to school are treated differently. They are not favored or given special treatment, but they are expected to know what is going on in the industry and are expected to think at a higher level than the students who do not work in the industry. At work there were talks of a promotion after graduation and other such opportunities due to my dedication and time to the company.

Sometimes, I feel lucky knowing that my professors know I work hard, both at work and in their classes. Other times, I wish I could have some free time like my other classmates who can enjoy mid-day trips to coffee shops or the simple joy of curling up in a sofa or bed with a good book — luxuries I rarely get to enjoy during the school year. Working in retail during the holidays is especially trying. I often have customers who treat me very disrespectfully or have employees who call out five minutes before their shift begins. These situations force me to look within myself and at the teachings of Christ in order to practice patience.

I always tell myself that my brief and relatively easy "suffering" will soon come to an end with graduation — but somehow, I do not believe this to be true. This has been my mindset for some time now. Recently, I have started to question why I was looking at my life in such a negative light. I could be looking at every moment as an opportunity, as a chance for new beginnings and open doors. It was at this point in my life that I met Johnnie, a humble father taking his son Christmas shopping at my store.

When I met Johnnie I was in the fitting room area, clearing the mounds of clothing that customers had messily left behind. I was supposed to be making figure eights around the entire store, making sure everyone was okay and attending to any pending customer service issues. But I needed a break from all of that. I needed to be alone for a few minutes to reflect upon my attitude not necessarily on the outside, but what I was feeling inside myself. Folding and re-folding clothes had me questioning how my retail experience could really help me after all. How was all of this going to pay off for me in the end? So desperately in need of some "clothes-folding-therapy" I asked another manager to take over as the manager-on-duty for a few minutes while I attended to the fitting rooms.

Johnnie must have known something was troubling me. A stranger knew how to reach out to me in the perfect way. He asked me "How'd you get stuck doing this job?" I smiled as I told him about my major, and how I thought that eventually my experience here would pay off. He thought this was a grand idea and started to non-obtrusively ask about my dreams, my goals after graduation and other questions that got me excited, and got me thinking about why I was really there. I could write a book about how the fifteen minutes I spent talking with Johnnie (and helping his son find a perfect pair of blue jeans along the way) helped me find meaning in my life right now, filled with mundane tasks. But I suppose a paragraph will do for now. What I really took away from the experience was how one random person can help you re-find the meaning that drives you inside. It is in the kindness that I see in people like Johnnie that I witness Christ's love and silent guidance — a place where I find my greatest inspiration and reaffirm my willingness to find meaning in the not-so-painful-mundane.