- After the pandemic, I took a job in a thrift store, working with all the children of the Z generation.
- I expected them to be shallow, but they were compassionate and welcoming.
- I am surprised to have made such a deep link with them, but I am happy to have done it.
A “Purple Rain” prince t-shirt was deposited at the savings store where I work; It was in perfect condition.
“I saw this show,” I said to my new 19-year-old colleague.
“Yeah, I saw this film too,” she said, without interest.
“No,” I said to him, “I was at this concert. I saw Prince Live in the 80s. I was a first-year student in high school.”
She was shocked and envious. But I am used now that all my colleagues are much younger than me.
In 2022, I just came out of the pandemic. After being stuck at home for two years with my sons while they were online school and my husband, who worked at a distance, I had to go out. I needed to connect with the community again. So I got a job in a thrift store. I was at the start of the fifty, working alongside young people from the Z generation.
Before I started, I made assumptions about my young work colleagues based on my son and friends. I thought they would be glued to their phones, without interest to work hard or take an initiative. Given our age difference, I wondered if they even wanted to know me.
I had never been so wrong.
We were surprisingly able to connect to fashion
A colleague asked to see my high school cheerleading photo. I crinized teeth by pulling it on my phone, but they loved my big hair and uniform uniform from the 80s.
My credit skyrocketed because I grew up before the internet, producing with paper cards and listening to cassettes. I also grew up by wearing what is now a very coveted vintage fashion (even this purple and gold keeper outfit).
This is our point of contact: fashion. Conversations flow easily while touching the fur collar of a glorious vintage layer or the rough polyester of a combination of the 1970s. Clothes inspire stories to share.
I remember very well when a garment inspired a colleague to tell me about his distant parents. I was moved by the opening they were all with me.
I was also surprised by their emotional intelligence and their bodily positivity
I did not expect to bond so deeply with colleagues who were young enough to be my children. However, I became their friend, their confidant and even their mentor.
They openly discussed mental health and surprised me with their emotional intelligence, their reflection and their bodily positivity. Unlike my generation, they are not ashamed of cellulite or acne. They have their shameless bodies, proudly carrying crop tops and neon star stickers on their pimples.
When a colleague asked me: “How are your hips? Do you want to work the locker room so that you can sit down?” They were not condescendants; It was compassionate.
I sometimes give them life advice
A girl asked me for advice on the purchase of a house.
“Take a buyer lesson for the first time to reduce your deposit and save on mortgage interests,” I told him.
When another teenager asked questions about keeping long-term relationships, I said to him: “Go to dates and give yourself time to do your own thing.”
Surprisingly, they are all receptive to what I have to say and do not brush me. I feel heard in my workplace, and it makes me feel valued.
I am so proud to be able to work with this generation
I am proud of this generation. I realized that my hypotheses on their work ethics were false. They are reflected, compatiating and intelligent. They make me feel full of hope for the future. They appreciate my experience and my wisdom.
Work this work energized me. I feel younger and confident in my body, my style and my place in the world. My colleagues appreciate and appreciate me.
We can be of different generations, but we share a love of fashion, music and family stories. Gen Z taught me a lot.
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