March 12, 2020, will be a day I never forget.  Not only was it the start of the pandemic, but it was when I first became a titled front-line worker.

Working at Giant has been a blessing of mine. No, I did not dream of working here but just the fact I am working is great enough. For months, millions have lost their jobs and ability to support themselves and their families. I am one of the lucky ones to be able to do that. I am able to pitch in for groceries and I also got to pay my car off. I worked enough to have a large surplus of money for my future as well.

I work twenty-four hours a week. Being in school, while working at Giant especially now, is a lot harder than it was a year ago. During days that we are remote it is hard to find motivation to do schoolwork. I work almost every day and it takes a mental toll. Tanya Nguyen, a freshman at Temple also works with me and says “I do not have a lot of time to balance school and work… work has made me tired and unmotivated”. 

I never know what to expect while working at Giant. It is not the same repetition certain jobs have. One day I will be watching self-checkouts and another I will be stocking the shelves. Certain jobs like counting the number of people that come into the store were very stressful. Also, having a one exit one entrance made it hard to interact with certain people. Some would not listen to me while others politely agreed to follow the new rules. Mask wearing has also been a stressful issue. We do not enforce mask wearing because of violating laws protecting people’s medical privacy. Employees get yelled at for something we cannot control. This is how it was for many other things like the one exit one entrance, limitations on products, creating lines for registers, out of stock products, and the list goes on. 

While working at Giant has taken a lot of energy out of me, it was great to develop new and stronger friendships. “I see and talk to people I normally wouldn’t” Andrew Long, a bagger at Giant said. I have strengthened my friendships with people like Tanya and Andrew by working at Giant. Nights consisted of very little people we were able to talk to. On busy days it was our teamwork that did the talking and allowed us to become closer.

Working during a pandemic has to be one of the hardest things I have done. I have a lot of confidence in myself to follow precautions carefully and make work a better and safer place. As the pandemic rages on, people forget that students, especially high school students, are on the front lines. We are the ones who allow you to get your food safely and efficiently. The “Thank you” statements may have stopped but we still are out there on the front lines during these unprecedented times.