This semester’s going to be pretty stressful. I’ve been sick with a cold for the past two weeks, and it just kept coming back, which made everything harder. Today I did my first interview for the magazine, and honestly, I think it went pretty well. I told him I was nervous since it was my first time interviewing someone. If I were more of a people person, I’d totally want to interview everyone—I actually really enjoyed it. I love learning new things about different people and places.

The person I interviewed was Jeremy Kieso, a manager at Stein Sign Display. He’s worked in retail for over 20 years before becoming a manager there. I asked him how he keeps up with the fast pace and constant demands of the industry. His answer stuck with me: it’s all about building relationships with customers. I could totally relate, thinking back to high school when working with customers who didn’t really want to engage or give input was tough. When a customer has a vision but can’t explain it, you help them figure it out. But when a customer has no idea what they want and dislikes everything you suggest, it’s a real challenge. Jeremy’s point about relationships being key really applies to pretty much any job.