First of all, you go girl!
For all those college kids who have the luxury of not having to work, let me just say that that is awesome! Being able to enjoy your four years without the stress of finances is great, and I applaud your parents for financing your college years into their savings.
But for the other half who have to support themselves while handling school too, I feel your pain and you're definitely not alone in the struggles of living on your own and supporting yourself. For many parents, it’s not even about the money. Lots of parents (like mine) are “old school” and believe that their child should get a glimpse of what adulthood should be like while in college. And let me just say, it ain’t easy.
If one more person asks me why I don't have a boyfriend, I might lose it. And my response is always the same, I smile politely and say, “Im dating my job.”
If you are the same way as me, I think you are incredible and one day I believe it will benefit everyone in college who supported themselves.
I mean, we’re definitely all pretty consistently poor each month, but as The New Radicals once said, “We’re flat broke, but hey! We do it in style.” That is my life motto and every first of every month when my bank account suddenly takes a brutal beating, I put on that New Radicals song, You Get What You Give, and tell myself it’ll all pay off when I’m out of college and already know how to save and finance (kind of).
I would love to enjoy every weekend with a man who wants to show me off and take me out and about all weekend long, but I live at the restaurant and any server knows that weekends are essentially your weekday. It is almost a sin to take off Friday and Saturday night when it is the busiest. Unfortunately for your romance life, that takes away most opportunity for date night. Sacrifice is one thing that I have learned to accept over the years of working weekends. I may not make it on that rafting trip, but I will be able to pay my power bill.
Working at this age has given me such a sense of priorities. As much as it hurts at the time, you probably didn't miss anything you couldn't live without on that rafting trip. During school, I have a hard time keeping school in front of my work, but here we are learning time management. I know that waiting on people can drain you too. It’s hard when the customer has to always be right but keep pushing through the assholes and smile anyway.
Honestly, it sucks though. I would love to have a boyfriend to spend all of my time with, but that is a luxury. I do not have that luxury. And I do get lonely spending my days off catching up on laundry and maybe even making it to the gym, but I know I will owe my parents a big thank you one day for all of the life lessons that I am being taught without even realizing it.
The guys will come and go, but for those working for their future, you keep working your ass off because at the end of the day, you are setting yourself up for success. Guys will always be there and eventually your timing will be right. For now, keep killing those doubles and give your future something to be damn proud of!
