Wadsworth 1

Kiera Wadsworth

English 1010 - P.1

Haslam

October 4, 2020

The Unknown

Most everyone I’ve interacted with has expressed a fear of the unknown. Whether it be

something like their future, or something as simple as what’s underneath your brother’s bed, not

knowing causes fear. I think that’s in part because uncertainty of what’s to come means anything

can happen.

One sunny Monday afternoon, in the middle of September, I jammed out to a song on the

radio on my drive to work, with very little traffic on the road. It had been a good day so far, and I

was in a great mood, ready to help and talk with lots of people at work. I was scheduled with

some fun people to close for the night, and I was excited to laugh and talk with them. I had only

had my job at Bed Bath & Beyond for a few short months, but it already seemed to become like

a second home to me.

Today I was planning to talk to my boss, Stephanie, to tell her I can change my

availability and get more hours. I pulled up in my big, old pontiac a couple minutes before the

start of my shift to find one of my managers collecting all the carts from the parking lot.

“Hey Ashley!” I said.

“Hey girl, did you get a call from Stephanie today?” Ashley asked me.

“No, was I supposed to?”

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“Yeah, but that's okay. She’ll just need to talk to you sometime today before she goes

home.”

At this point, so many thoughts were going through my head. ​Why does Stephanie need

to talk to me? Am I taking too many days off in October for my family trip? Did I do something

wrong?​ I walked inside, went upstairs to clock in, and met a few of my co-workers downstairs at

the main register, all of which said something like what Ashley told me. This made me a little

nervous. I had no idea what Stephanie needed to tell me, and why everyone else seemed to know

what was going on except me.

After restocking some shelves and helping customers find cookware for about a half

hour, I found my boss, Stephanie. She said she wanted to talk to me and I told her I needed to tell

her something as well. I followed her up the two flights of stairs to her office. One thing I love

about Stephanie’s office is all the windows. From up here, I could see most of the store, without

anyone noticing I was watching. It gave me a sense of comfort, being able to watch over

everything down below from a safe distance up above. We sat down, and Stephanie pulled out

some papers and a binder. She didn’t seem like her normal self, and this made me extra nervous.

Stephanie usually is very talkative, and always asks how you’re doing, but today, she seemed

more quiet and reserved.

“Why don’t you go first,” Stephanie told me.

I then proceeded to tell her what days I was now able to work since the tennis season was

coming to a close. She looked relieved to hear I could be more flexible with my work hours.

While she fixed my availability, I sat there, pondering about what Stephanie was about to say to

me. After what felt like hours, in reality it was only a few minutes, she finally told me.
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It seemed emotionally hard for her to find the words to talk to me. I knew this could not

be good. She didn’t make eye contact with me, and looked at her papers and binder as if hoping

she’d find something else written there that could be better news.

“As you may know, a few of our other locations have recently announced that they are

closing.” Stephanie paused, still looking down at the binder. “Unfortunately, it has come to the

decision that our store is among the 200 in the nation that are closing.”

She looked up and finally made eye contact with me. I was in shock and at a loss for

words. Stephanie continued, “We are scheduled to start the liquidation process in a few short

weeks. You may want to look into other jobs, but I ask that you stay until we close in January,

although it is not required. Also, our closure is not common knowledge yet, so I would ask that

you refrain from telling any customers until it has been publicly announced. Thank you for

working here, and I’m sorry to have to share this bad news with you.”

We both sat there not quite knowing what to say to each other. It felt surreal hearing that

I wouldn’t be working here much longer. I had grown to love working here, even though some

days can be really tough.

I left her office deep in thought. ​What was I going to do? Should I quit now and find

another job or should I stay until the end?​ I had no desire to go back to the sales floor, in fear of

what customers might say to me. I was worried someone would say something that might trigger

my emotions and make an awkward situation.

The rest of my shift was a complete blur. I was in no mood to help anyone or do

anything. I spent most of my time in center stock reorganizing extra blankets, or in the towel
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room refolding towels, away from any customers, and my coworkers. The usual, energetic vibe

in the store was nowhere to be found. All I felt like doing was going home and crying.

I remember going home that night, scared of what would come next. I had no idea what I

was going to do, and I no longer had a steady job to depend on. After a few days I finally

realized that worrying does no good. When you worry so much about something, it brings you

down and makes it hard to focus on what’s important, and you tend to ignore the good little

things in life. When I changed my perspective to focus on what I have now, instead of what

might be going away, I was able to be happier. I enjoyed the little moments at work, and decided

to appreciate it while it lasts. Sometimes not knowing what will happen next can be a blessing;

you learn to live in the moment and love what you already have.