When you turn 16 your life starts to pick up; you can get your driver's permit/license, you start your last 3 years of high school, and you're old enough to get a job. Cars, gas and insurance do not come cheap, and many start saving up for college. When I was 16 I started working at a restaurant close to my house where I started out as a hostess, and now I'm working as a salad bar attendant. Although I've missed out on a lot the last 2.5 years because of work, I'm grateful that I was able to start out young.
It's easy to sit at home and do nothing but homework and watch TV, but it's just as easy to apply for jobs. No one wants to go to school and come home just to go right into work, but it is rewarding every two weeks when you get the paycheck for your hard work! It can be difficult at first to set a routine for homework and studying, but it's so worth it in the end. You learn how to manage your money and have a bank account, you're able to spend your OWN money, and you learn how to be responsible and independent.
Most part time jobs are in retail and food, which are the best places to start out. In retail you learn how things are set up and how to run them, you get to deal with the real world as customers yell at you for prices you can't control, and when they won't sign up for credit cards no matter how hard you beg them. In the food industry you gain a newfound respect for those who work in other restaurants (I know I did!). Busy nights are hard for every worker there, so when your server isn't exactly chatty and pleasant it doesn't mean they do not deserve a tip. You gain experience in how to deal with angry customers, and you meet great (and not so great) people to work with and serve.
One of the biggest arguments I've heard is that kids don't want to work because they'll miss out on things. When you're in high school, and even in college, you work nights and weekends. I missed all of football season my senior year because I worked, I've missed family outings and gatherings, birthdays, etc. because of my work schedule. You can always request days off, but some places make schedules months in advance and it's hard to get time off. The hard truth is that that's life, you're going to miss out on a lot more but your friends and family will be there when you get home from work. I might get upset when I can't hang out with my friends or go do something on the weekend, but once I get my paycheck I feel a lot better. I don't get things handed to me, I work for it and there is no better feeling.
Working in high school sounds rough, but it really isn't. I have a friend that worked two jobs in high school and still does and she turned out just fine! I'm so glad that I started young because now I am able to pay my way through college, pay for my own gas and buy my own things. I don't have to rely on my parents for money, they help me out when they want to, not because they have to and that's how it should be! I'm happy that they made me get out there and start working because I'm more responsible, I might still be at my little part time job but the work I put in makes me feel so good at the end of the week. Knowing that you are doing something instead of sitting around all day every day should be the motivation you need to get out and get a job. Your parents won't be able to support you forever, so why wait around?
