For my internship, I worked as a volunteer at Aphrodite's Closet, a non-profit shop that sells clothing and jewelry.

Journal:
May 21st 2011
Today I worked at the shop for four hours. I used the swiffer to clean the floor and I dusted the figures and statues around the store too. I spent a lot of time steaming clothes. For the last hour or so, I worked in the back making things for the store to sell.

May 22nd 2011
Today I cleaned a bit and did some steaming, but there wasn't much to do. I spent most of the day fixing my projects from the day before and crafting more things. It was difficult because things weren't sticking or functioning like I wanted them to.

June 4th 2011
Today I worked very hard. The shop was very busy. I priced a bunch of jewelry and clothing. I researched prices for books and cards donated to the shop. I also cleaned the floor. I steamed new clothing and I watched the shop while Heather was in the back.

June 5th 2011
There was a lot to do today too. Later in the day I priced my own consignments. I didn't have a lunch break today because I wasn't hungry. I did a lot of the same things that I had to do before.

Reflection

It was very fun working at Aphrodite's Closet. It did take some time to adjust to being an "employee". I was told to treat it like a real job. Sometimes it was hard and I ran out of energy and motivation. I spent very long hours in the shop. The skills I used were communication, technology literacy, punctuality, time management, ethical behavior, contributing to success, and appropriate appearance and attitude.

My daily duties were included pricing, which was time consuming. I also cleaned by using the swiffer and wiping down knick knacks. I greeted customers and held their items for short periods of time. I used the back room to craft and make pretty things from used items. I put away clothes to their correct colors. I also steamed wrinkled clothing, which is time consuming but makes a huge difference in the appearance of the clothing. I also researched the worth of some of the items that were being added to the store. I worked on making an arrangement to display all of my jewelry items. I learned how to be obedient and how to interact with my boss. My favorite experience is when she was going through donations for the store and I got to keep whatever I wanted from the rejects. If she doesn't want something in the store anymore she will sometimes give it to me for free.
An example of an obstacle during the internship was learning to not ask a lot of questions. I didn't know my place before, so I was uncomfortable. I learned that I needed to ask to be given a task instead of just hanging around waiting for one. 
I expected my internship to be a lot easier. But I did learn something valuable from it. Consignment is a lot of work, and it is way too much work for one person. It could be exciting because the clothes are all different, but it could get a little old. I was starting to think that retail was not for me. Even though I love to sell things, I would rather be designing. It feels more morally comfortable. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and appriciate the knowledge gained from it.