I am naturally optimistic, naturally bubbly, like Cinderella and Snow White waking up and greeting the day X 500 and have been since I could speak!!! Just a genuine affection for life and all that it can offer!! At first it was perfect because I realized I was a natural at customer service jobs. I have spent years completely tranquil around disgruntled asshole customers. It was like I had found my true work skill and it was being myself! Fuck me, right?! I don’t think people realize how many times I’ve been asked if I’m on drugs. When people can’t understand why you’re just genuinely happy and content with the present moment they get fucking nasty - especially if they’re the customer and you’re the lowly cashier/hostess/waitress/barista, etc. But then I hit my early 20s and it was always slightly aggravating when I was being genuine in caring/concern for a customer and they either mocked me for it (well aren’t YOU a morning person) or used my friendliness to try to hit on me (hey so I didn’t leave a tip for you at all but you’re such a hot waitress let me buy you some drinks after this instead!) So I think that’s what started the road to burn out, and now I have realized within the past year I haven’t even been my natural, annoying ass Disney Princess-self at all while working. I’ve been having to fake it, and it’s exhausting. I leave work depleted of all my energy in my personal/home life when I actually need and want to be bubbly and upbeat. It wasn’t until Memorial Day weekend when my dad pulled me aside and expressed concern over how my laugh, my biggest laugh of the whole weekend, the laugh I thought I was genuinely har-harring “sounds very fake. like how you use it with customers....” and when I actually vented about my father’s rude comment to my boyfriend, he agreed. The nerve! He then pointed out all my signs of burn-out and advised no job is worth any money if I can’t enjoy time with loved ones. TL;DR: being a naturally upbeat, disney princess-like person makes you great at customer service until you reach burnout thus having to fake the bubbly personality thus leaving you depleted of energy to be your natural self around your loved ones when you’re not working and your dad will call you out for being stuck in customer-service mode so you should look for a new career path when you’ve reached your ten year burn-out