Full-time Everything, All the Time
Growing up as millennials, we were taught that hard work is the only way to achieve our goals and get ahead. The pressure to fight for what we want is all we know. For us, there is no other option besides giving 110 percent to be The Best. So, every semester, I, like so many of my peers, fill my plate to the brim with classes and extracurricular activities, striving to create a portfolio that showcases me in a stellar nutshell. The most recent, and one of my favorite, additions to my long list of activities is my new job: working at a global clothing retail chain that has 1,600 stores worldwide and more than 40 stores in the U.S., but is new to the Mid-West.
Joining the Mag-Mile Uniqlo team as a sales associate is arguably one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am lucky to have trained as a member of the new flagship store’s grand opening crew. Seeing many of the in’s and out’s that go into launching a 60,000-square-foot, three-floor store ‘from scratch’ allowed me a rare glance into the incredible effort that goes into creating a successful business, down to the finest nuances of customer service.
In line with the millennial theme that “nothing good comes without hard work,” founder Tadashi Yanai is dead set on making Uniqlo the number one clothing brand in the world by the year 2020. Hence, every employee is pushed to give 100 percent in everything that they do. The new showcase location is so expansive, it takes 85 seconds to ride the giant escalator from bottom to top. Not surprisingly, we employees have been given a directive to walk with a sense of urgency while completing tasks.
In addition to taking eighteen credits, attending senate meetings for student government and chapter meetings for my sorority, plus working twenty hours week, takes toll on one’s body very quickly. Yet, I love working, especially at a store that is the epitome of the way I want to live my life: clean, efficient, and organized down to a T. Despite the long hours, I always look forward to going into work, even when I worked thirty hours in three days during opening weekend.
All things considered, life isn’t so bad. When I roll out of bed at 5am every Thursday morning and put on my ROTC uniform in preparation for the day, I merely need to remind myself that anything less than everything is not enough.