"We just need to prepare ourselves so that we can have our own voice and space."

Normally, there aren't many customers first thing in the morning, so my colleague, Natalia (the social worker), and I use the first half hour to catch up and see if there's anything to discuss from the previous day. Natalia also suggests activities that help us work as a team and foster our commitment to the project and to doing a good job. In fact, the four of us working the morning and afternoon shifts were the ones who created the shop rules.

Every day we review our work schedule and divide up the tasks: organizing clothes, restocking products, checking stock, hanging signs, cleaning spaces and windows. Some days we even receive training on customer service, sales, and even maintaining the store's Instagram profile.

Before checking that all the clothes are hung and folded properly, I sweep the floor to make sure everything is clean. Then I make sure the clothes we sell are neatly arranged and organized. We also take this opportunity to start looking at what summer items we have available because we'll soon need to switch to summer clothes.

With all the responsibilities that come with running a store, we have work all morning.

When someone comes into the store, I give them a moment to look around, and then I approach them to see if I can help with anything. I don't do that anymore, but at first, I found it really difficult to approach people, but I'm improving every day. It was hard for me to let people help me because I struggle to recognize my own emotions, and that makes it difficult to ask for help, but it's something I've improved on, and I'm lucky that I'm a person who can control my nerves well.

My shift is over for today. My colleagues on the afternoon shift will continue working in the store until 7:30 p.m. Being able to do this job encourages me to look for another one in the afternoons as well. For now, I'll keep going to the gym. I have a lot of willpower, and companies need to know that those of us who struggle with certain things put in twice the effort. We just need to be prepared so we can have our own voice and space.