Member-only story
I Am Not a Job Title
After years of defining myself by the position I held, I walked away from a dream job. Here’s why.
When I tell people what I do for a living I am used to their expressions of excitement and awe. “You manage a bookstore?” they exclaim, “what a dream job! That must be so fun and relaxing, getting to read all the time.” And then I laugh, because it is not at all relaxing nor do I ever read on the job — in fact, I’m often so tired I do not read early as much as I used to. But I smile and tell them yes, it is a dream job, and yes I do know how lucky I am, thank you for saying that, but really it is quite a lot of work.
I understand why people think working in a bookstore is peaceful and easy. They don’t think about how heavy boxes of books are, or the effort that goes into shelving, organizing, and merchandising books. They don’t realize it involves long hours on your feet and an endless stream of customers who are not always pleasant and friendly with you. They don’t think about what it’s like to work retail during the holidays when the phone is ringing off the hook and you’ve got a line of customers at the register that never ends and carts of books to shelve and how every single person in the building needs help finding something.
