For some students, summer break is filled with beaches, cookouts, and sleeping in until noon. However, for others, summer is time to make money. From camp counselors to fast food workers, from interns to landscapers, students across the US are working to pay for the rising price of tuition. While work is God-given and helps us grow into better human beings, it can be very taxing at times. Even if you hate your summer job, here are four things I've found to prove true for just about any part-time position.
1. You get to make new friends with your coworkers.
Nothing is more fun (or more scary) than walking into the first day of your new job and meeting the people you'll be spending the majority of your summer with. They may not all become your best friends, but they will coach you through new and changing procedure, massive headaches and angry soccer moms.
2. Hard work results in good character.
If your parents are like mine, you've heard them talk on more than one occasion about how hard work is good for you. They aren't wrong. While summer jobs do not tend to be the most desirable, they instill in you humility, patience, and perseverance. Serving someone who is rude to you, doing really embarrassing dances and challenges to make kids laugh or even wearing your ugly uniform five days a week can be some extremely growing experiences.
3. Summer jobs allow for more fun later.
One really cool part about having a summer job is getting a paycheck. For many, like myself, the check gets put towards education and all the expenses that go along with it. While it can be a bummer to not get to spend that paycheck right away, it will pay off when you have just a little bit less debt at the end of your college career.
4. Your job gives you room to witness to others.
For me, the coolest part of my job as a camp counselor was sharing the Gospel with little kids. Even part-time work that doesn't directly involve talking about Jesus can be a great platform to be a good example to others. Actions speak louder than words and Calvin students are known for changing the conversation.
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:17
So, whether your job is to serve dinner or to serve 7 year olds, make sure to give it your all. We are called to be lights to the world. What a better place to shine than in a place you work at 40 hours every week. While not every job is as fun as going to the beach, your work matters and so do you. Keep up the good work, Knights!
