It's the rite of passage that we can't wait to be upon us.. THE GREAT FIRST JOB. For most of us, we rejoice when that phase of life passes, but we can't deny the fact that we learn some crucial life lessons from our strife and struggles..
1. You are the bottom of the totem pole.
Yes sir, like it or not your first job is a wake up call. Up until this point, most of us have had a very childlike mentality. We have always been the most important.. Me first! But Me quickly learns that you don't wear the pants in this relationship.
2. Your parents' money really never grew on trees.
Imagine that! That old myth gets debunked really quickly when you walk out with your first paycheck along with a few achy muscles and tired, stinging eyes. Now where is that tree again?
3. Work feels like work.
I don't know about you, but somewhere along the way, I developed this notion that work was going to be fun. You know after all when you were little, you were always imagining that you had some kind of job: a cashier, a nurse, a McDonald's drive thru worker... Definitely not what you imagined it to be!
4. The world does not revolve around your schedule(or you)...
This lesson is a whole lot easier said than learned. There are so many things in life that we know that we just can't miss (we really can but still) like our second cousin's best friend's first birthday party or even something more realistic, like a Titans home game. But when you sign your name on that dotted line, your schedule starts revolving around that place of business and stops revolving around your schedule and preferences.
5. There is always that one customer.
There is always that one customer (sometimes clones of them too).. oh that one customer. They alone make you hate your job and expect you to stop whatever you are doing to make all right in their world. You can't move fast enough, answer correctly enough, or get the price low enough. Inevitably, your conversations with them always end with, "I need to speak to a manager," despite your best efforts.
6. You know you took your childhood for granted.
All those days you complained that you were bored, you would more than happily exchange now. You never know what you've got 'til it's gone. I miss you, Mom!
7. You can stretch a dollar, and you will!
If I make $7.50 an hour, and I work twenty hours this week. That means I will order off the dollar menu, with a water to drink, hold the extra dipping sauce, and oh wait, I have a coupon! It's a beautiful life!
8. "I can't. I have to work."
It flies our of your mouth as quickly as, "How can I help you?" You can't go to girls night. You can't go to your sister's game. You can't even go on a date. Or so it seems.. How dare your boss schedule you for so many hours?
9. Even though you may have slaved for hours, the government still takes half your check.
"There must be a mistake. I worked way harder than this. This is an unjust place of commerce." It didn't evaporate, just went straight to the government. Better get used to that.
10. You will not work here forever!
It only takes about a week for you to figure that out. It's the reassurance that keeps you striving for greatness. One day you will walk out that door for the last time, "Oh happy day!" But until then it's "Hi-ho hi-ho, it's off to work you go!"
