My name is Mary Brennan, and I am a first year here at the University of Georgia. During my four years of high school, I had the privilege of working in a local convenience store/gas station. The man who owns the store immigrated to the United States from China along with 7 of his relatives, when they were children. As a move that grand can really bond people, the whole family still lives in Savannah, Ga. This small store has become like a home to me as all of the family members have watched me grow from a 14-year-old girl to the 18-year-old I am today. On a daily basis I would see at least four of the family members, and on days I was lucky my boss would bring his grandchildren in to entertain me. As one can imagine with any family-owned business, there can be days filled with absolute chaos (usually around the holidays). They would come into the store yelling at each other and walk straight past customers, but by the end of the day, they would be talking about their dinner plans for the next night. The atmosphere the family created was really why I loved this job so much, because while customers can be rude and standing behind a register for eight hours isn’t thrilling, they kept me on my toes. Working for this family has been one of the best experiences. Not only did it give me a great work ethic and customer service skills, but I made connections with a family that could never be replaced. Even while I am away, my boss calls to check up on me, and his brother will send me pictures of his dog. I will always be thankful for the kindness this family has shown me.