While we all look forward to summer because of the many fun activities it has to offer us — time under the sun, bonfires, hanging out with friends — it also means a time for jobs. As much as it can suck to work over the summer, there are some reasons it can be worth it in the end.

1. You are earning money.

Eventually, the green bills start to add up. For those of us paying for college or a vehicle or gas money, it can be a nice feeling to know you are supporting yourself in some small way.

2. It is a chance to get away from home.

Although being home is nice immediately after the school year ends, it can lose some of its appeal after days of monotonous repetition. Without the drama brought by other people at school, a new diversion can be nice.

3. You can learn something.

Of course, it will be nothing to match the academic things you discuss in school, but sometimes the most important lessons you learn don’t come from a textbook.

4. It could mean new friends.

When you have to spend so much time with the people you are working with, it is nearly impossible to not share a few words from time to time. Sometimes, those words can even lead to a new acquaintance or a possible friendship.

5. It lets you see a new side of life.

Working in any type of job can provide you with a new perspective, whether that be the need for certain jobs, such as those in construction, or a look into the lives of the many that pass through a restaurant on any given day. No matter which way you look at it, there are many different sights to be seen at work.

6. It can serve as an escape from ... other things.

If you need to avoid a situation going on in your life, going to work can be a way of putting that problem out of your mind, even if it is only temporary.

7. The sense of accomplishment can make it semi-worth it.

While you may have to spend a great deal of your summer doing some sort of job, at least you can say at its end that you did something over the summer. You were helping yourself in some small way by earning money. That on its own is worth something, at the very least.

So, when this summer ends, don’t dwell on the fact that you had to work. Dwell on what you were able to take away from this worthwhile endeavor of a job in the summer.