Since the age of sixteen I’d been working in a large retail company. That’s eleven years. As soon as I left school I began the job hunt, within two months I’d landed a job at the company I’d be with for eleven years. By 2018 I was embarrassed, I hated my job and saw no way out. Something had to change.
By time 2017 had wrapped up I was a depressive wreck. My band was breaking up, my family had moved away, I’d ended a train wreck of a relationship, a friend had passed away, I was broke all whilst spending thirty nine hours a week in a job that did literally nothing to fulfill me mentally or even financially. It fucking sucked! It was at this time that I began training again, I don’t remember consciously make the decision to begin exercising but something drew back into the gym. Thank God it did though. By January 2018 I had already dropped some weight and begun the application process to start my personal training diploma. It was from there working in retail really started to become hard work.
As soon as I began working on something that would take me out of the retail game my focus on the job really began to suffer. I mean the job was already mind numbing as it was, but knowing there was light at the end of the tunnel… Damn, that became frustrating. I wanted to leave in an instant! I’d also come to a point where I was thoroughly embarrassed by the job. Well maybe that’s unfair, I was embarrassed with myself. Here I was at twenty seven years old, working on the counters with a silly white mesh hat, taking orders and woefully clock watching all day. I didn’t want to tell people what I did for a living. There’s nothing wrong with that job at all, but god damn I felt like I’d truly let a large chunk of my life slip by. Man, did that fire me up!
It wasn’t until mid July 2018 that I was able to hand in my resignation. I remember the day clearly. I awoke early on a Monday morning, my day off, to find waiting on my email account a job offer to join a large gym as a Personal trainer. Boom! I’d done it! One big massive wave of relief hit me, a sensation that had never been experienced before. Now I could finally move forward with, for the first time in my life, my career! Giving my notice into the supermarket was such a joy, I practically skipped into the store. Although I was sad to be leaving some great people behind I knew this would be the right move to make.
Unfortunately I had four more weeks of retail to endure…
I’ll save that story for the next installment.
Daniel Hipkiss
Daniel Hipkiss 