Years ago I was working in retail, specifically a computer store. The work was boring, the customers were either rude, dismissive or both and of course, this took a toll on general morale, myself included. It didn’t help that the neighboring store had, like, three songs on loop which drove every employee in earshot crazy, but that’s beside the point.

One Thursday afternoon, it was business as usual. My coworkers took the day off, so I was alone, behind the till, re-evaluating my life choices and the store was empty, save for an occasional window shopper. It was December and the neighboring store changed their regular their regular short playlist of songs for another a completely different (but just as short!) Christmas-themed playlist. On loop again, of course. The store I was working in didn’t have a dress code, so I wore my usual get-up: jeans and whatever T-shirt I grabbed in the morning. That day I was wearing one that my parents brought from France with this picture printed on.

While nurturing my newfound hatred for retail, a shy-looking girl came in, looking for a USB stick. I went through the usual motions, suggesting brands, explaining the differences all while trying to be as cordial as possible. She decided on a brand, so we moved to the register to finish the transaction. As I was printing the receipt, I got a simple “I like your shirt”.

This caught me off-guard. I never received compliments while working. It was… nice. It took me a few seconds to compose myself again. After, I thanked her for the compliment, gave her the receipt and the item she bought and wished her a pleasant day. That girl genuinely made my day and I still think back on that interaction fondly.