Serving in Florida By: Barbara Ehrenreich

Serving in Florida

Barbara Ehrenreich

FLORIDA! my home! I was so excited when this assignment was assigned because I have become so homesick and just seeing Florida’s name brought a smile to my face and thoughts of home flushing in. I can all to well relate to working in Florida at a dead end job that literally sucks the life out of you. But unlike Barbara in the story working wasn't a means to and end for me but more of a means to a new beginning. I had to work to assist my parents in paying for my college tuition. Reading Serving in Florida made me feel re-affirmed in my decision to begin college right after graduating high school rather than taking a year off to work.

My first job was working at Abercrombie Kids. My days consisted of five hour shifts standing at the head of the store and repeating “ Hey what’s going on? Welcome to Abercrombie!” over and over again. I was bombarded with clothing to be hung a certain way every 5 minutes while the manager watched my folding to make sure I was following the directions for that particular shirt/pant fold. I repeatedly had to clean out the dressing rooms, which held more than just clothes by the time people were through  trying on clothes. The amount of spit up food, dirty underwear, and garbage I had to dispose of from those dressing rooms haunts me to this day. Like Barbara in the story we had different variations of customers. There was the classic over protective parents who refused to allow their children to go into the changing rooms without them,  even though there is a strict no more than one person in the dressing room policy. I was constantly spoken down too and made to feel insipid for my place of employment. I was exhausted constantly from the ridiculous amounts of folding and hanging and getting screamed at by angry parents because there kids couldn't fit into a size eight and they refused to believe there child was not a size eight. LIKE IT REALLY MATTERES! 

Serving in Florida is a smack in the face. Barabaras story forces you to realize the hardships in store for those who don’t study commit themselves to attaining a college degree. I could not imagine working at Abercrombie Kids more than the summer I needed to. I have never held a job as a waitress but based on what I’ve read it sounds very demanding and demeaning being forced to retrieve anything the customer requests. I am so happy I made the decision to begin at a University rather than take that year to work because who knows what would have happened or obstacles I would have come across hindering me from furthering my education.